WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | McDonald's stand-off suspect also charged in puppy-snatching

McDonald's stand-off suspect also charged in puppy-snatching

RICHLAND COUNTY, SC (WIS) - An armed man barricaded himself inside a Columbia McDonald's for about two hours Sunday before surrendering.

Courtney Wood has been there before, standing in front of a judge to face criminal charges after lashing out at an ex-girlfriend. When he did it in North Carolina seven years ago, it landed Wood in prison for more than three years.

Now Wood, who describes himself as a self-employed car washer, was being held in Richland County after the denial of his bond Monday afternoon. He faces two counts of kidnapping, one of armed robbery and pointing a gun after a crime spree that began in Sumter.

The Richland County Sheriff's Department says the incident started as a domestic dispute in Sumter between 27-year-old Courtney Edward Wood, his ex-girlfriend and the woman's new boyfriend. 

Capt. Alvin Holston of the Sumter police says, "We've seen different types of love before, but possibly this one was a little too extreme."

Woods lived with Bernadette Crimbley in her apartment for over six months, until a couple of weeks ago when they broke up and she made him move out.

Capt. Holston says it "sounds like he basically couldn't accept the rejection."

Wood made a return visit to the apartment this last Tuesday, where he confronted Crimbley and her new boyfriend, Travis Williams.

Police say Wood grabbed Crimbley's puppy and drove off, holding her puppy out his car window. Capt. Holston says Wood "hung the puppy out of the window so that she can kind of observe that he had the puppy."

Authorities apprehended Wood, arrested him, and charged him with cruelty toward animals.

Capt. Holston says, "The puppy was in the vehicle and was safely handed over, and the puppy is doing fine."

Crimbley, on the other hand, filed a restraining order against Wood on Thursday. But police say that didn't stop him. Capt. Holston says, "He escalated the situation of course, even more."

That brings us to Sunday night. Police say Wood went up to Crimbley's apartment, kicked in the door, pulled out a pistol inside and fired multiple times. One of those shots hit Williams in the left upper thigh.

Police say Wood then grabbed Crimbley and, by gunpoint, forced her into Williams' car, which he then drove toward Columbia via Highway 378.

Lott says the man shot in Sumter is expected to survive.

Lott says a SLED officer saw Wood's vehicle and gave chase. The SLED officer was joined by the highway patrol, who pursued Wood to the McDonald's.

Wood ran inside with his ex-girlfriend, and most employees and patrons ran out of the restaurant.

"I dropped to the floor and then ran to the back of the store," says McDonald's employee Lawrence Norman. "We thought he was coming back there so we ran out and shut the door."

Also in the McDonald's was shift manager Melanie Reese. She was hiding under a table, talking to the sheriff's department on her cell phone. She'd escaped when Wood burst in - but something told her to go back inside. She explains, "Because I had another manager that was in the inside and I just wanted to make sure that everybody was out and everything was clear. And I think it was more like a panic mode."

Deputies called Wood at the restaurant, at which time Wood's ex-girlfriend escaped through the drive-through window, leaving Wood alone in the restaurant with the hidden employee.

Lott says Wood never knew the employee was in the restaurant. Deputies kept contact with the woman, and told her to stay calm, quiet, and hidden.

"She was scared to death, but she stayed hidden," says Lott.

Lott says the man began to make demands to sheriff's deputies on the phone. A special response team obtained a key to the restaurant, and entered the building.

The team confronted Wood, who surrendered to authorities. Wood was arrested, and the employee was rescued.

"She stayed hidden until I physically went over to her and told her it was time to leave," Lott said about the employee. "She has not physical injuries, but has emotional ones from being in such a traumatic situation."

"She kept her wits about it, about herself. She gave us information that allowed us to identify exactly what was going on, to identify that there was no other victims inside, to give us inside information that we needed to be able to isolate him, to determine what he had," says Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott.

"I'm fine right now. I'm doing good, pretty much. I'm just happy that everybody's okay," Reese says. "God was on my side at all times. That's how I live. That's how my family is. I'm not going to betray anything else because I know for a fact that He has my back."

Reported by Jack Kuenzie

Updated by Chantelle Janelle