DeKalb County

Man held mother hostage for hours, police say

By Rikki Klaus
By Rikki Klaus

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Police say a man who held his mother hostage for hours Monday is now in custody.

Investigators told Channel 2’s Rikki Klaus that Jared Toomb, 42, will at least face a false imprisonment charge for barricading his mother inside their house down the street and holding her against her will.

Negotiators talked with Toomb for hours over a loudspeaker trying to get the man police describe as mentally ill to surrender.

“I can hear them telling him to come out, just put the gun down. We’re not here to hurt you. We’re here to help you,” the man’s niece Santresa Clements told Klaus.

Investigators say they got two 911 calls from a home on Meadowview Drive Monday morning. Next-door neighbor Betty Redmond told Klaus she heard cries for help.

“Just him hanging out the window screaming, screaming, Lord help me. Lord help me. They’re going to sell my house. I have nowhere to go,” Raymond said.

Redmond said the suspect has a history with police. She said Toomb’s mother, who was barricaded in the home, tried to get away.

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She was going to climb out the back window this morning, and he wouldn’t let her,” Redmond said.

Police said hours after a SWAT team arrived, Toomb handed over several guns.

“He always has plenty of guns in the house. Always. He walks around with an Uzi,” Redmond said.

Clements told Klaus that her uncle had been hearing voices lately, and was worried people were going to kill him.

She said he’s never been diagnosed with a mental illness, but has suffered for a long time.

“I want my grandmother out of the house, safe, but at the same time, I want him to be safe too, so he can get some help,” Clements said.

Clements said her mother helped with the negotiation process.

Investigators said a nurse at the scene and doctors at the jail will be available to help Toomb get the help he needs.

Cox Media Group

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