Man who doused himself with gasoline charged with four crimes

Published 12:00 am Monday, August 12, 2013

SALISBURY — The man who doused himself with gasoline Friday and held Salisbury police at bay with a baseball bat and machete has been charged with four misdemeanors.
Jacob Mark Dobbins, 24, is being held in the Rowan County Detention Center under $25,000 bond. He is charged with resisting a public officer, assault on a government official, disorderly conduct and communicating threats.
Dobbins poured gasoline on himself and throughout his parents’ Corbin Hills home Friday afternoon in the 400 block of Wildwood Drive and threatened to light a match if anyone approached.
After a nearly two-hour standoff, police managed to take Dobbins into custody. No one was injured, and no shots were fired.
Authorities charged Dobbins Sunday afternoon after he was released from Novant Health Rowan Medical Center, where he had been taken for evaluation.
Police say he assaulted a Salisbury police officer by throwing a bat at the officer, threatened to kill officers and yelled at officers while holding a machete, trying to keep them from entering the residence.
Dobbins is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 16.
Today, he is due to appear in probable cause court on unrelated charges, including possession of a controlled substance in the Rowan County Detention Center, felony possession of cocaine, financial card theft and financial card fraud.
Those charged stem from incidents in February and July.
During Friday’s standoff, Wildwood Drive was shut down for a portion of the afternoon as emergency vehicles lined the streets. After two hours, officers were able to use friends and family members to coax Dobbins to come out onto the home’s back porch, where police used a flash-bang grenade and rushed the 24-year-old.
A second set of officers entered the home through the garage, preventing Dobbins from doubling back, police said.
About 4 p.m., the department’s Special Response Team had Dobbins in custody.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.