PRESS RELEASE
April 22, 2016
FCSO ARRESTS SUSPECT FOR DISCHARGING FIREARM AT PERSON
SUBJECT: Joshua Thomas Rothwell, age 46, of 4835 Fowler Road, Coward, SC was arrested by deputies with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office on April 21, 2016 and charged with Assault and Battery, 1st Degree (S.C. Code Ann. 16-03-600(C)(1)). See FCSO Booking Website for additional details.
NARRATIVE: Deputies with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call on Fowler Road near Coward, SC at approximately 3:00 P.M. yesterday alleging that a suspect pointed and fired a firearm multiple times at the complainant following a verbal altercation. The suspect was later found to be barricaded in his dwelling at 4835 Fowler Road. Deputies attempted to talk the suspect out of the dwelling, but to no avail. FCSO SWAT Team responded to the scene, and following a standoff of approximately 3 hours, the suspect surrendered without injury to himself or to deputies.
Investigators took Joshua Thomas Rothwell into custody from the scene and charged him with Assault and Battery, 1st Degree. The incident remains under investigation. Rothwell is being held at the Florence County Detention Center while awaiting a bond hearing.
END
Major Michael M. Nunn
General Counsel/P.I.O.
