A Chatham County sheriff’s deputy is home from the hospital and in good shape after he was shot while serving a stalking warrant Wednesday afternoon in Pooler — an incident that led to a three-hour standoff, disruption of traffic, an arrest and thankfulness that the deputy’s injuries were only minor.
Cpl. Lester Ellerbe, a veteran with the sheriff’s office, was released from the hospital late Wednesday night, according to the sheriff’s office. The alleged shooter, Vincent Helmly, 25, gave himself up and was arrested without incident Wednesday. He will be charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and interference with government property, according to Pete Nichols, sheriff’s office spokesman.
Other agencies are expected to file more charges against Helmly.
Ellerbe was entering Helmly’s Leah Drive residence off Quacco Road when Helmly allegedly fired a high-powered rifle at Ellerbe and other officers. Ellerbe was shot in the arm.
The outcome of Wednesday’s incident was the best that the department could hope for, Chatham County Sheriff Roy Harris said at a news conference Thursday morning.
“If that round had hit him (somewhere else) it would have been very bad,” Harris said. “He was mobile, talking and doing very well. It was a very fortunate incident that he did not receive more injuries.”
Officers from various agencies including Georgia State Patrol, Savannah-Chatham police, Pooler police and the U.S. Marshal’s office responded to the scene and Quacco Road to traffic, which eventually backed up for miles.
First responders originally couldn’t reach Ellerbe, so the Savannah-Chatham police SWAT team was called to the scene just before 5 p.m. after Helmly barricaded himself in his house.
“The thing you never want to hear as a police chief or a sheriff is ‘signal 13 — officer down,’” Harris said. “‘Shots fired.’ I looked immediately at the radio to see who it was… when I saw it was our channel — that really is a sinking feeling. ... He’s in very good shape and he’s very fortunate.”
While officers redirected traffic on the Pooler road, negotiators and Helmly’s father attempted to talk the suspect into surrendering. Police fired a round of tear gas into the house at one point during the standoff.
“There’s a heavily wooded area,” Harris said. “We were also concerned that as dark fell he might have tried to run and get into the woods to get away from us. Steps were made to contain that.”
Helmly has a previous felony arrest. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor firearms charges in 2010 in Bloomingdale for discharging a gun near a public street and discharging a firearm on another person’s property when he shot and killed a family’s pet deer.