Inset: Chavas Rhodes (North Charleston police). Background: Apartment complex in North Charleston, South Carolina, where Rhodes allegedly threatened his kids and killed the family dog (Google Maps).
A South Carolina man is behind bars after allegedly telling his three children they were “going to die” and shooting the family chihuahua to death.
Chavas Rhodes, 30, faces a slew of charges, including burglary, kidnapping, animal cruelty and unlawful conduct towards a child, the North Charleston Police Department said. The incident unfolded around 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the 6500 block of Dorchester Road. According to an incident report obtained by Law&Crime, Rhodes entered the apartment where his children and their mother live, uninvited, while she was out in the parking lot.
One of the children said Rhodes allegedly walked through an unlocked door and yelled, “All of you are going to die tonight.” Two of the children ran into a bedroom and hid under a bed, the affidavit said. The family dog, a chihuahua rat-terrier mix named Logan, started barking at Rhodes, who then shot the pet dead, cops said.
Rhodes walked into the bedroom and ordered the two kids to leave with him. The other child used the opportunity to run out of the apartment for help, cops said. Rhodes put a blanket over the two kids” heads, but one of them saw the dog’s body and “dropped to the ground crying and saying she was not going with the suspect,” cops wrote.
“The suspect became more irritated, told the juveniles to get in the closet and if they called anyone he would hurt them,” the affidavit said.
One of the kids called their mother from the closet, who came running to the apartment. Rhodes allegedly pointed a gun at her before jumping off a balcony and running away.
Cops eventually caught Rhodes and arrested him. They found a gun he used in some nearby bushes, per the affidavit. Rhodes also appeared to be intoxicated, officers noted.
The mother of the children, who are under the age of 10, has a domestic violence injunction against Rhodes.
“The victim and her minor children are deathly terrified of Mr. Rhodes,” a victim’s advocate told a judge Tuesday morning, according to The Post and Courier newspaper.
Rhodes is currently being held at the Al Cannon Detention Center without bond.
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