Recently uncovered court records show the local man killed by a Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office deputy Tuesday night had previously faced charges for assaulting law enforcement officers.
Charles Spillers, 65, of Spillers Law Firm in Cumming, who was shot and killed after deputies say he “brandished a gun” inside his west Forsyth residence during a domestic incident call, was previously arrested in December of 2009 on a number of charges after he assaulted two deputies in his home, according to court records from that time.
An arrest affidavit obtained by the FCN states that during the 2009 incident at his address on Mallet Court, Spillers punched two deputies in the body and face, “causing visible bodily harm” to one.
He was booked into the Forsyth County Jail on two felony charges of obstruction, and one charge each of misdemeanor assault and battery, according to a booking report.
All charges from the 2009 assault were later dismissed due to Spiller’s completion of a six-month pre-trial diversion program.
According to Cpl. Doug Rainwater, spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, on the night Spillers died two deputies were initially sent to his residence on Carbonne Court in the Marseille subdivision in west Forsyth after someone called 911 and hung up. But eventually a 911 dispatcher was able to make contact with a woman in the home who said she was involved in a dispute with her husband.
A news release by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on the incident stated that when deputies arrived at the residence, they determined a physical altercation had occurred between Spillers and his wife. At that point, a third deputy, a sergeant, joined the response, per FCSO protocol for a domestic dispute.
Cpl. Rainwater said a woman let the deputies in the home, and moments later Spillers appeared "brandishing a gun."
"At this point, one of our deputies took defensive action and shot and killed the husband," Rainwater said. "Very quickly it went from making sure the female was OK to one of the deputies using deadly force."
The GBI release stated that Spillers was struck “multiple times” by gunfire and died from his injuries at the scene.
The website for Spillers Law Firm states that Spillers specialized as a workers’ compensation attorney.