WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. — The standoff between deputies and an attempted murder suspect is over, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.
Wednesday, deputies tried to arrest James Hines, 50, at his home on Maripoe Road in Weeki Wachee. According to Sheriff Al Nienhuis, Hines barricaded himself inside the home and used a gun to threaten a deputy serving the warrant.
Around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, after a roughly eight-hour standoff, Nienhuis said a deputy fired a bean-bag gun through a downstairs window at Hines before Hines shot back with a rifle.
Deputies returned fire. Hines was hit and sent to a trauma center. The sheriff's office said on July 11 that Hines' injuries weren't life-threatening. He's been charged with numerous charges, including attempted first-degree murder, first-degree arson, written threats to kill, written threats to kill or injure, aggravated assault on a LEO and resisting arrest with violence.
As the sheriff explained, Hines' arrest warrant for attempted murder stemmed from a suspected arson case on Wednesday morning around 3 a.m.
The sheriff said the fire happened at the Brooksville home of Hines' ex-girlfriend, who Hines had threatened. When deputies learned that Hines purchased gasoline before the blaze, there was enough probable cause to arrest the 50-year-old, Nienhuis said.
As for the standoff, Nienhuis had hoped it would end peacefully but knew that might not be the case.
According to the sheriff, Hines has a lengthy criminal record and had made a previous comment that he hoped to commit "suicide by cop."
No deputies were injured in the incident.
“It is really fortunate the fact that he fired on us that no deputy was injured, because he had a little bit of an advantage because he knew where he was, but we didn’t know where he was," Nienhuis said.
