Ellendale man arrested after night standoff October 27
Dan Gaines
A former detention officer was arrested early Thursday morning, Oct. 27, when Alexander County deputies received a call that a domestic dispute was occurring at his home in the Ellendale Community.
According to Sheriff Chris Bowman, Alexander County 911 received a call about 1:15 a.m. on Thursday that a family dispute was happening at the home of Dan Gaines, age 46, on Oxford School Road in Ellendale.
The Sheriff’s Office received word that, before officers arrived on the scene, Gaines had stepped out the back door of his home and fired a shot into the woods, striking no one.
Upon arrival, Gaines would not allow officers to enter his home. A standoff ensued. About 12 officers responded to the scene.
About one and a half to two hours later, the standoff ended peacefully and Gaines was taken into custody.
Gaines was charged with communicating threats to a law enforcement officer and obstruct and delay of law officers. He was placed in custody Thursday but was later released on a $10,000 secured bond.
His first court appearance on the charges will take place on Dec. 5, in Alexander County District Court.
Gaines was formerly employed with the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office as a detention officer, and more recently, as a detention officer with the NC Juvenile Detention Center in Taylorsville. According to the June 6, 2012, issue of The Taylorsville Times, Gaines was not actively working with Juvenile Detention then, due to a job-related injury. The article said Gaines was involved in the Alexander Prison Ministry, for which he was a board member at that time. In that issue, Gaines and his wife were featured as a success story after a teen they had fostered battled a tumultuous past to graduate high school.
