SWAT Standoff in Paulding County on Heights Lane (Paulding County, GA) On Monday May 30, 2016 at approximately 11:52 am Paulding County Deputies responded to 445 Heights Lane Acworth, GA 30101 (Wesley Heights Subdivision) reference a possible suicidal male subject. While they were enroute, Deputies learned that this had been called into the “Suicide Hotline” who in turn called 911. Responding Deputies further learned that other Deputies had been to the house the previous day reference a welfare check and a domestic dispute. Later, it was learned that the Deputies who responded on May 29, 2016 never made contact with the male on either occasion.
Once Deputies arrived on scene they attempted to make contact with the male at the front and rear of the residence. When they did not make contact at either the front or the rear, they began walking back toward the front of the residence from the rear of the residence. As Deputies were walking around toward the front, the male shot a high powered rifle through a window toward the Deputies. One of the Deputies was injured by flying glass and other debris and was not struck by the bullet. The Deputy was treated on scene by EMS for superficial cuts and abrasions. The Deputy will be fine and is expected to make a full recovery.
At that point, the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team and Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) responded to the scene to assist with the incident. Negotiators immediately opened up dialogue with the male, who was later identified as Daryl Allan Matheny, W/M, 46 YOA, on the telephone. CNT personnel did everything they could to help facilitate a peaceful ending, and even called in the family’s personal pastor per Mr. Matheny’s request. Once Mr. Matheny got more agitated, he broke telephone contact with CNT members and they did not hear from him again. Throughout the course of the evening CNT members continually tried calling Mr. Matheny, but he refused to answer the telephone.
Paulding SWAT Team members, with the assistance of the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team and their armored Lenco Bearcat vehicle, began inserting CS gas into the house in an effort to get Mr. Matheny to exit the residence peacefully. After inserting CS gas and cutting the natural gas off to the residence, Deputies sent in the SWAT robot to get a better idea of what was going on inside the house. Just a little before 11:00 pm, when the robot made entry into the residence, SWAT personnel were able to see that Mr. Matheny appeared to be deceased as a result of a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
When SWAT team members saw that Mr. Matheny appeared to be deceased, they went inside the residence to confirm what they had seen on the camera of the SWAT robot. Once they got inside, they confirmed that Mr. Matheny was in fact deceased. At that point, Crime Scene Investigators and Detectives began processing the scene. Later in the evening, Mr. Matheny’s body was transported to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Lab for an autopsy to be conducted. Once Detectives completed their investigation, they cleared the scene without incident.