8-26-2011 Florida:HOLLY HILL -- A man who overdosed after police came to his house to arrest him on charges of raping a 9-year-old girl called a few of his friends and told them he had done something terrible, Holly Hill Police Chief Mark Barker said Friday.
A few hours later, 55-year-old Edward Eugene Carter's refusal to emerge from his residence for the arrest prompted a nine-hour standoff on Daytona Avenue that included the Volusia County sheriff's SWAT team, the Bomb Squad and a specialized robot.
In the end, just after 2 a.m. Friday, police found Carter slumped over on a desk inside his two-story house, his handgun next to him, Barker said Friday. Preliminary autopsy reports showed Carter -- the father of three girls -- had killed himself with a lethal dose of alcohol, Xanax and methamphetamines, Barker said.
Police first arrived at Carter's home on Daytona Avenue about 5:30 p.m. Thursday to arrest him on a warrant for sexual battery of a child, Barker said. The case had just been reported to police on Wednesday, even though the abuse had been going on for almost a year, the chief said.
According to the arrest affidavit, the girl and her godmother were doing the child's homework Wednesday afternoon when suddenly the youngster passed a note to her godmother that said "Jed had sex with me," the police report shows. "Jed" is the name friends and neighbors knew Carter by, police said.
The godmother immediately told the child's mother, and the two women then asked the child a few questions, the report shows. The girl drew pictures of what occurred between her and Carter, police said. She also wrote out another note that said: "I was scared to tell mom because he told me not to tell no one. I was very scared!"
Police began their investigation Thursday and during the course of that inquiry, Carter made several statements that confirmed the allegations the child had made, Barker said.
Thursday afternoon investigators had enough evidence to confront Carter with an arrest warrant, police said. That's when the trouble started.
Officers reported Carter came out of the house momentarily with his weapon in his waistband. He then went back into his house and refused to come out, police said.
Barker said he tried to negotiate with Carter, but Carter's level of intoxication increased throughout the night and he was uncooperative and refused to come out of the home.
"We tried everything possible to resolve this," Barker said.
As the standoff continued, multiple units arrived at the scene, including the Volusia County sheriff's SWAT team and the Bomb Squad, which deployed a specialized robot.
One neighbor described the street as a "war zone," as long-range marksmen and an armored tactical vehicle moved through.
Barker said the SWAT team deployed tear gas into the home, but got no response. The Bomb Squad robot searched the residence but found no one.
Carter was finally found dead about 2:15 a.m. on the second floor of the home with no visible trauma to his body. At no time during the standoff were any shots fired, authorities said.
Friday afternoon, detectives were expected to return to Carter's green-colored house to search for evidence, Barker said.
The chief said Carter may have victimized other children. The suspect had a swimming pool at his home that was popular with a few neighborhood children. ..Source.. by LYDA LONGA and CHRIS GRAHAM, Staff writers
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