Why more than a dozen law enforcement units responded to this house in Columbus
A report of a stolen vehicle led to Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office deputies arresting a suspect wanted on seven outstanding warrants Friday in Columbus after officers with long guns surrounded the house where he was hiding.
Deputies responded to the property in the 3700 block of 14th Avenue, where they arrested Elijah Smith, 37, on the following warrants, Sheriff Greg Countryman told the Ledger-Enquirer:
- Theft by receiving stolen property
- Possession of Schedule II narcotics
- Trafficking meth
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, two counts
- Possession of a firearm during commission of a crime, two counts
- Possession of drug-related objects
- Criminal use of an article with altered mark.
The Ledger-Enquirer saw more than a dozen law enforcement vehicles arrive on the scene outside the house where the suspect ran inside.
“We had other individuals tell us that he was inside,” Countryman told the L-E. “… We dispatched our K9 units to come out too, and when he heard the canines barking, that’s when he came on out.
“I was glad that he did because we didn’t want to deploy our K9s because we didn’t know if he was armed or not, but we did retrieve an AK-47 that was also inside of the house. We also cleared a stolen vehicle that was reported through the Columbus Police Department.”
Countryman explained the unusual incident started in a routine way.
“Our deputies were patrolling the area, and they happened to see three or four individuals outside of a vehicle that turned out to be a stolen vehicle,” Countryman said. “The individuals fled into the house.”
After backup units arrived, Countryman said, several of the people inside the house came out with their hands up and told deputies that someone else remained hiding in the house.
“They gave his name, and we ran his name through the system,” Countryman said. “It showed that he had several outstanding felony warrants. At that time, our special response team came out in case we had to go in to get him.”
Thankfully, the sheriff said, that wasn’t necessary.
“Once he heard the canines barking,” Countryman said, “he came out with his hands up.”
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 3:38 PM.
