Courtesy WXII-12.
Mount Airy News Partner WXII-12 captured this image of John Trenton Smith as he was being driven away by Yadkin County Sheriff’s deputies. No details have been released on what charges Smith will face.
Yadkin County Sheriff Ricky Oliver addresses the media shortly after taking the suspect into custody. He did not say what charges the suspect, John Trenton Smith, faces after allegedly opening fire on two Yadkin County deputies.
Lindsey Whitley and Dalton Buzzard were staying in the America’s Best Value Inn when authorities moved in. They were asked to evacuate the hotel while law enforcement officials were in the midst of a stand-off with an armed suspect in the building.
Two Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office came under fire, each receiving minor injuries, Friday morning at a Jonesville hotel, leading to a five-hour standoff with a suspect before he finally surrendered.
John Trenton Smith, 37, was arrested Friday at about 9:45 a.m. at America’s Home Value Inn off U.S. 21, according to Yadkin County deputies. Sheriff Ricky Oliver did not immediately reveal what the charges were against Smith.
Deputies arrived on scene at about 5 a.m., and a suspect shot at them through the door, according to N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Kevin Hennelly. Deputies then evacuated the occupied hotel rooms.
One deputy was shot in the shoulder, and another was injured by flying debris, according to Oliver.
Elkin residents Lindsey Whitley and Dalton Buzzard said that deputies knocked on their door at about 7 a.m. and told them to evacuate. They had just looked out the window and saw what looked like about 30 law enforcement vehicles. They said all of the other occupants had been escorted out by deputies earlier, but Buzzard and Whitely were somehow missed during the original evacuation.
Buzzard said he thought that about 12 out of 40 rooms were occupied the night before.
Officials said the Jonesville Police Department received a call at 4:30 a.m. from a Jonesville resident who said that handguns were stolen from her home. Deputies arrived at the hotel with a warrant for Smith’s arrest, and had arrived at the inn when they came under fire, officials said.
Oliver said that Smith was a convicted felon. He had been staying at America’s Home Value Inn for a couple of weeks, according to Hennelly with the Highway Patrol.
At about 9:45 a.m., law enforcement officers convinced Smith to put down his gun and surrender himself. He was then driven away in a sheriff’s office vehicle. Before the vehicle pulled onto the road, members of the media swarmed the vehicle. In one photo he can be seen with his tongue hanging out.
The Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office, the Yadkinville Police Department, the N.C. Highway Patrol, the SBI, and the US Marshall’s office were on scene.
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