Armed man surrenders after standoff with Tallahassee Police

An armed man who refused to leave his apartment in a confrontation with Tallahassee police surrendered peacefully on Tuesday afternoon.

Witnesses said the man walked out of his front door with a cigarette in one hand and a gun in the other. But TPD disputed that he was armed when he left the residence.

People clapped and cheered after police disarmed the man and took him into custody following the two-and-a-half-hour confrontation at Kona Apartments on McCaskill Avenue. The Tallahassee Police Department identified the man as Kymasculine S. Dawkins, 24.

Tallahassee police disputed the witnesses account that the man lef

Officers responded to the apartment complex around 10:20 a.m. after a woman called 911 to report a domestic incident, said Maj. Lawrence Revell. Officers arrived and made contact with family members he fought with but withdrew after learning the suspect was still inside and armed.

TPD’s Tactical Apprehension and Control Team arrived and used a remote-controlled robot to enter the apartment, finding Dawkins hiding beneath blankets and pillows. 

"We were able to communicate through that tactical robot and negotiate a peaceful surrender," Revell said. "The suspect is in custody with no injuries."

Dawkins had active warrants issued in May for burglary with a person assaulted and resisting arrest. His new charges include three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and false imprisonment and one count of grand theft of a firearm and resisting an officer. Police said he was found with a stolen 9mm handgun.

Alfonso Brown, a resident of the complex, said he watched as Dawkins surrendered.

“They took the gun out of his hand when he was coming out of the door with a cigarette,” Brown said. “But he came out peacefully.”

Another resident who asked not to be identified said she peeked out her window, saw an officer putting on a bulletproof vest and knew something serious was happening. She said residents whooped and hollered when it finally ended.

“Everyone went to clapping,” she said.

Brown said he heard from family members that the suspect allegedly beat up a woman inside the apartment before police were called.

“He jumped on her,” Brown said. “He beat her up. And she escaped."

The standoff happened less than a week after a man barricaded himself inside a residence in western Leon County and shot at officers for six hours through the walls of his mobile home. The confrontation ended after a deputy shot and killed the suspect, 44-year-old Gabriel Rouse.

Brandon Miller, a legislative aide for state Rep. Cary Pigman, R-Avon Park, made note of the back-to-back standoffs on Twitter.

"What is going on?" he asked. "This is not the Tallahassee I grew up in."

The Leon County Sheriff's Office, Leon County Emergency Medical Services and the U.S. Marshal's Service assisted at the scene. StarMetro also provided a cool and safe place for temporarily displaced residents.

Before Tuesday's standoff ended, police blocked off a chunk of Stuckey Avenue, which runs behind the complex, and asked residents to evacuate or stay inside their apartments. They turned away residents and visitors who tried to get through the front gates on McCaskill Avenue, where throngs of gawkers gathered.

“Oh my God, I hate it here,” one frustrated woman said after being told she couldn't come home.

Another man came to Kona Apartments to visit a friend but could only watch from the sidewalk as police responded.

“I walked into this,” he said. “I don’t know what happened.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.