Handyman charged with felony fraud; "suicide by cop" situation recorded

Jonathan Cecil Pruitt, 26, was arrested for felony theft by conversion after reportedly swindling an elderly lady out of $3,900 in northwest Baldwin County.

The woman, who lives on Couch Road, paid Pruitt $3,900 for the "materials" to complete a repair job, according to an incident report, but Pruitt "never produced the material nor did he complete the improvements." The incident actually dates back to December 2020, and Pruitt was arrested after an investigation.

A very quick Google search shows that Pruitt also was arrested in South Georgia back in 2015. Reads the article: "Detectives with the Coffee County Sheriff's Office arrested Jonathan Cecil Pruitt, 19, after receiving reports from several victims that they had bought a car shelter from him. But when they went to get the shelter, they found out that the shelter did not belong to Pruitt." He was charged with four counts of theft by deception.

Deputies recently dealt with a very dicey situation on Logans Drive off of Stembridge Road. A woman at the residence first threatened to shoot the deputies before ultimately pleading with the deputies to shoot her, according to an incident report. In between, the woman, listed at 5-foot-5 and 215 pounds, slapped a deputy, wrestled with deputies and attempted to bite a deputy, added the incident report.

Law enforcement initially responded to the home in an effort to serve a juvenile warrant on a juvenile believed to be staying at the residence. After several minutes of knocking, the juvenile eventually came out and was arrested without incident. At some point, however, the deputies heard the woman "state 'I'm going to shoot a (expletive expletive) in the head today!'" The woman then was told that she was under arrest, and she then reportedly deputies that they "were going to have to shoot her in the head and that she had a gun." The deputies entered the home, and the woman retreated to a back bedroom and locked the door. She was located in a closet and began resisting arrest, according to the incident report. At sone point, she "began reaching behind her as if to grab a weapon." She eventually was handcuffed, but not before slapping a deputy in the face and "attempting to bite" another deputy's hand.

While she was being escorted out of the home, the woman "was repeatedly requesting for (deputies) to shoot her and kept jerking away." The 36-year-old woman ultimately was charged with one count of felony obstruction of an officer and one count of misdemeanor obstruction of an officer.