How fingernail painting led to an hours-long standoff with Myrtle Beach police
A 52-year-old became enraged after his girlfriend broke up with him while he painted her fingernails, leading to an alleged assault and hours-long standoff with police.
Early Saturday morning, Myrtle Beach negotiators talked Mark Anthony McConnell into leaving a Yaupon Drive motel without further incident. He was charged with domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, kidnapping, resisting arrest and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
During a Tuesday hearing, a judge set McConnell’s bond at $110,000. He is incarcerated in J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
The incident started around 10:15 p.m. Friday as a Myrtle Beach officer was flagged down near the San Marcus Villa Motel, 1300 Yaupon Drive, for a reported assault.
He went to a motel room, knocked and McConnell slightly opened the door, according to a police report. A woman was yelling for him to open the door and let police in, but McConnell refused.
The officer forced the door open, and the woman escaped. McConnell kept pushing and trying to close the door, the report states. Police used a baton to keep the door open, though McConnell tried to pull it in the room.
Officers continued to yell for McConnell to let them in, but he said they would have to shoot him, the report states. An officer saw McConnell with a knife and heard a gun being racked. The officer retreated and called for backup, including SWAT officers.
The victim, who is McConnell’s girlfriend, said he was painting her fingernails but became aggressive when the woman said she was leaving him, according to the report.
McConnell grabbed the woman by the throat, strangled her and slammed her head into a wall, the report states. He told the victim that he was going to kill her then himself. Then, McConnell pulled a knife and cut the victim’s finger as she tried to defend herself, police said.
Police negotiators responded and spoke to McConnell before he exited the residence around 2 a.m. Saturday. He was detained and taken to the hospital for treatment.
This story was originally published May 8, 2019 at 10:57 AM.
