A tense situation at the Econo Lodge on Richland Avenue West ended Thursday with the arrest of a local man who Aiken police say threatened and took two women hostage in one of the hotel rooms.
At approximately 9:46 a.m. on Thursday, two officers were dispatched to room 121 after the hotel owner received a call reporting a disturbance. The caller stated that a man in the room may be armed and was asking for assistance.
Upon arrival, officers were informed by the hotel owner that the suspect, later identified as 36-year-old Joseph Satterwhite of Warrenville, may have been carrying a firearm. The occupant of the adjacent room also reported hearing threats coming from the room, including threats to kill everyone, according to the police report. She described hearing Satterwhite say he was holding the occupants of room 121 hostage.
“(Satterwhite) told the victim to tell the clerk that she did not need assistance when the clerk called the room to check on the victim,” an arrest warrant states.
As officers approached the door and identified themselves, a woman opened the door and Satterwhite stepped forward. Officers drew their weapons and ordered Satterwhite to leave the room. He complied with all orders and was found to be carrying a coyote and black Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm pistol with an obliterated serial number.
Inside the room, officers spoke with two women. One of them explained that she had previously dated Satterwhite for six years but had broken up in mid-July. On the day of the incident, she had invited the other woman to visit her at the hotel. She said that when she tried to leave the room, Satterwhite forcibly dragged her back into the room, pulled out a firearm and threatened to kill them both if they tried to leave the room.
Satterwhite later admitted to authorities that he tracked down his former girlfriend after discovering she did not live where she said she did. He confessed to coming into the room and confronting her about alleged infidelity, but denied threatening the women or pointing the gun at them.
Satterwhite was subsequently arrested and charged with aggravated domestic violence, first-degree burglary, kidnapping, possession of a weapon, and possession of a handgun with an obliterated serial number.
He was taken to the Aiken County Detention Center for processing.
