Suspect not in home, ending hours-long SWAT situation in east Charlotte, police say

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – A police standoff in east Charlotte ended overnight, but maybe not exactly how officers had expected.

An officer at the scene said the person they thought was inside the home in fact wasn’t there at all.

This happened at a house on Leaning Pine Lane, off Camp Stewart Road and not far from Interstate 485.

A WBTV photographer said he continued to hear negotiators talking to what they thought was the suspect through the night.

Around 1:30 a.m., officers began packing up and left the scene, confirming the incident was over.

WBTV video from overnight that was taken a little closer to the house shows a couple of officers still at the home where this took place.

That’s when an officer said that despite the initial information they got, the person they thought was inside that home for hours, refusing to come out, in fact, wasn’t there at all.

It all started around 3 p.m. Monday when officers were called to Leaning Pine Lane for a report of “communicating threats.” According to authorities, this was a domestic situation.

Officers separated those people and left the scene. At that point, they said they learned one of the people involved was a suspect in an unrelated crime.

Police got a warrant and returned to the house, thinking that man was inside, refusing to come out.

SWAT officers and negotiators with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police converged and spent hours on a bullhorn yelling at an empty house.

It all ended around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday after officers learned the house was empty.

An officer at the scene said they don’t know where that suspect is.

Related: CMPD investigating homicide in southeast Charlotte after man shot and killed

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