Girlfriend saves the day after police swarm Charlotte street to arrest felon

The girlfriend of a felon accused of stealing a firearm is credited with peacefully resolving a police SWAT incident that closed an area of northwest Charlotte on Friday, WSOC reported.

The man refused to leave a home on Oakdale Road when police swarmed the neighborhood to arrest him, multiple media outlets reported.

“The public should avoid the area,” WBTV reported just after 1 p.m. Friday.

“Huge police presence,” WCCB reported.

Several Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police vehicles could be seen at Dale Avenue and Oakdale Road from WSOC’s helicopter. A SWAT team responded to the scene, WBTV reported.

And Oakdale Road was blocked off at Peachtree Road, according to Queen City News.

The suspect’s girlfriend arrived, parked her car and met with officers and negotiators, according to WSOC.

“Come on out,” WSOC quoted the girlfriend as saying to her boyfriend. “Let’s get this over with.”

The man complied and was arrested without incident on an outstanding warrant from outside Mecklenburg County, according to the station.

CMPD released no information about the incident by Saturday afternoon.

Citing police and the man’s family, WSOC identified the suspect as George Wesley Benfield.

The 41-year-old Stanley man is scheduled to appear in Mecklenburg County Court at 1 p.m. Monday on charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, larceny of a firearm, and breaking or entering a vehicle, jail records show.

Benfield remained jailed on $18,000 bail, according to jail records.

This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 1:37 PM.