Seneca standoff ends peaceably

Hours after it began, a standoff in Seneca ended without incident.  According to Police Chief John Covington, it was a peaceable end to a situation that started in the early morning hours at the Fair Oaks Village apartments.  There, a shot was fired as the police investigated a domestic call at the Lindsay Road complex.  No one was hurt.  It was early afternoon when Covington reported that the suspect, Ernest Lee Smalley Sr., surrendered as the state police started to maneuver a robotic device in the direction of the apartment unit.  The police announced two charges against the 52-year old Smalley:  discharging a firearm into a dwelling and possession of stolen goods.