Lenoir City standoff suspect identified, arraigned in court
 
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A suspect taken into custody in Lenoir City Wednesday afternoon following a standoff involving police and a SWAT Team has been arraigned in court.

Keith Kelser Jr is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of reckless endangerment and domestic assault. An arrest affidavit accuses Kelser of “using a deadly weapon during the commission of a physical domestic dispute.”

Investigators say Kelser allegedly fired a shotgun into a heater in the master bedroom of a home on Bell Avenue in Lenoir City while a woman and young girl were on the other side of the wall in the kitchen area. Kelser is also accused of damaging property and destroying items in the home prior to firing the weapon, investigators stated in the affidavit.

Lenoir City Police Chief Don White said that officers responded to a report of a domestic dispute at the residence on Bell Avenue around 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The report states Kelser fired the weapon a second time while police officers were on scene. The shots were not fired in the direction of the police.

White said the woman and child were able to flee the property safely and call 911.

Officers briefly established phone contact with the suspect before establishing a perimeter with assistance from the Blount County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team.

Negotiations were reestablished with the suspect around 90 minutes later and he was taken into custody. No injuries were reported.

The suspect is being held in the Loudon County Jail.

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4/24/23