13-hour standoff in Cabarrus ends with suspect’s surrender

A standoff between Cabarrus County authorities and a person inside a home on Green Acres Circle ended Friday morning after more than 13 hours with the man’s surrender.

The man walked out of the home without incident and surrendered to authorities around 11:30 a.m., Sheriff Brad Riley said.

Kannapolis police said the site of the standoff was the home of a man facing charges for a shooting in the city on Thursday night.

Police identified the suspect as Lannie Blaine Simpson, 57. He was arrested after the standoff ended, WBTV, the Observer’s news partner, reported.

At 9:13 p.m. Thursday, Kannapolis police responded to a shooting at 965 E. 13th St. They found George Sanders, 51, inside his home bleeding from several gunshots, Lt. Terry Spry said.

Sanders was listed in good condition Friday afternoon at Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast in Concord, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Sanders and Simpson knew each other, Spry said, declining to say what led to the shooting.

Police learned that Simpson might be driving a white Chevrolet truck and that he might be at his home on Green Acres Circle. That’s about 20 minutes southeast of the Kannapolis shooting site.

The sheriff’s office found the vehicle at Simpson’s home, which led to the standoff that started at about 10 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. Cabarrus County authorities had closed part of busy N.C. 73 during the standoff.

Riley said he wasn’t optimistic the standoff was going to end peacefully. “I think the negotiators did an absolutely first-rate job, making him feel comfortable about (surrendering),” the sheriff said.

Kannapolis police have warrants for Simpson for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Simpson has been in and out of prison since 1973, on charges including failure to register as a sex offender, selling drugs, escape from prison and assault with a deadly weapon, records show. He was last released from prison in 2013 after serving 11 years for robbery with a dangerous weapon and related offenses, records show.

Observer researcher Maria David and staff writer Joe Marusak contributed.

This story was originally published February 27, 2015 at 5:34 AM with the headline "13-hour standoff in Cabarrus ends with suspect’s surrender."