Cocoa Police SWAT Standoff with Armed, Barricaded Suspect Ends Peacefully After 5-Hour Ordeal

Charles Johnard Hopkins, 51, arrested after threatening family members with a shotgun

BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA, FLORIDA – A tense standoff in Cocoa stretched for more than five hours Thursday before police peacefully took a man into custody.

Authorities said 51-year-old Charles Johnard Hopkins was arrested after allegedly threatening family members with a shotgun during a dispute over ownership of a family home.

Officers responded around 8 a.m. to a residence on Polaris Street after receiving reports of a domestic argument that escalated into threats of violence.

According to police, Hopkins became agitated during a disagreement with relatives about the family property, which had belonged to a deceased matriarch, and threatened to shoot them.

When officers arrived, Hopkins refused to cooperate and barricaded himself inside the home alone. The Cocoa Police Department called in its SWAT unit, crisis negotiators, and received assistance from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and Cocoa Fire Rescue.

After hours of negotiations, Hopkins surrendered without further incident shortly after 1 p.m. No injuries were reported.

Hopkins was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence. Jail records show he is being held at the Brevard County Jail without bond.

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