SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – The suspect in the Spartanburg County deadly deputy-involved shooting had a criminal past, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said Duane Heard, 63, shot and killed Deputy Austin Aldridge Tuesday afternoon when he responded to a domestic call at a home in the 4000 block of Chafee Road.
According to incident reports, deputies responded on October 21, 2021, to that same house on Chaffee Road in reference to a disturbance.
Once deputies arrived on the scene, they spoke with Heard who said he was standing in front of the mail truck to keep the mail carrier from leaving without delivering his mail.
Heard told the deputy that he had problems with getting his mail delivered, so stopping the truck was the only way to get help.
According to the incident report, deputies responded to a Post Office on W Blackstock Road a week prior where Heard was trespassed due to his behavior, and threats towards Post Office employees.
At the scene, the mail carrier told deputies that she was given a “Do Not Deliver” notice for Heard’s address due to his recent actions at the Post Office.
The mail carrier said Heard beat on her delivery truck, which stopped her from leaving, the incident report said. Heard demanded that the mail carrier give him his mail and that is when she called law enforcement.
While deputies were attempting to arrest Heard, he walked backward away from deputies, so as deputies got closer, Heard kept resisting arrest.
Deputies arrested Heard for pedestrian in the road way and resisting arrest.
