NASSAU COUNTY, FLORIDA, Fla. — A Nassau County deputy was arrested after a six-hour long standoff occurred in the Widlight community Thursday night into Friday morning, according to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office.
Earice Rhoden Jr., 49, is facing charges of using a firearm while being under the influence of alcohol/drugs and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In a statement sent to First Coast News, Sheriff Bill Leeper says on Thursday around 11 p.m., one deputy responded to a residence in the community in reference to a "domestic dispute" that involved Rhoden and a family member. Leeper says Rhoden, who was off-duty at the time, allegedly fired two shots in an unknown direction when the other deputy arrived on scene and tried to de-escalate the situation. The arrest warrant states Rhoden attempted to go back inside his residence but could not gain entry due to the door being locked.
Rhoden was "intoxicated" and armed himself with a rifle along with a pistol and was "attempting to leave the house," the arrest warrant states.
The responding deputy called for backup and the Nassau County Sheriff's Office Special Response Team as well as the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office SWAT team responded to the scene, Leeper told First Coast News.
The arrest warrant states that after backup arrived, Rhoden fired "five shots from his weapon that went over the top" of a marked patrol vehicle, along with "two follow up shots towards the NCSO Drone that was flying over the residence." Rhoden also is accused of pointing his pistol at a deputy during the standoff and "then retreated into the garage."
According to the booking report, Rhoden was taken into custody at 5:05 a.m. as the incident was "resolved peacefully," Leeper said. There were no injuries reported in the standoff.
Leeper says Rhoden has been suspended without pay and is currently being held on no bond.
Leeper issued the following statement to First Coast News Friday:
“First and foremost, I would like to say we here at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office are a family and to hear that one of our deputies was involved in a situation like this is deeply saddening. On August 31, 2023, just after 10:00 p.m. one of our deputies responded to the Wildlight Community in reference to a domestic dispute that involved another NCSO deputy who was off duty at the time. 49-year-old Earice Ray Rhoden attempted to leave the residence with a firearm after he had been drinking and had gotten into an altercation with a family member. When we arrived on scene to try and de-escalate the situation, Rhoden fired shots in an unknown direction. That’s when our responding deputy called for backup and our Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team (SRT) and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Special Weapons & Tactics (S.W.A.T) responded to the scene. Shortly after, Rhoden was taken into custody and there were no injuries reported. I am thankful this incident was resolved peacefully and no one was hurt. Deputies are human and struggle with issues just like many others in our society. There are several programs that the sheriff’s office offers for our employees in order to get the help that they need and we encourage anyone to reach out if they need it. At this time Rhoden has been suspended without pay.”