Rock Hill man who bit wife, held her hostage gets probation

The Rock Hill man who bit his wife on the face and held her against her will for six hours in a May standoff with police SWAT team was sentenced to probation Friday, court officials said.

Bernard McCree, 53, pleaded guilty to assault and battery and a weapons charge after the incident at his home that ended without further injury after the six-hour standoff involving a loaded shotgun. A kidnapping charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement, said Jenny Desch, 16th Circuit assistant solicitor, but McCree must successfully complete court-ordered in-patient substance abuse treatment to avoid a 10-year prison sentence.

McCree will be held in the York County jail until a bed becomes available at a treatment program called Overcomers, according to the sentence handed down by Circuit Court Judge Dan Hall.

The standoff in May started around 6 a.m and ended around noon at 841 Horseman Drive, in a neighborhood between West Main Street and Finley Road in Rock Hill. McCree punched his wife in the face and didn’t allow her to leave a bedroom after biting her.

Rock Hill police sent a robot into the house during the standoff that included McCree shouting at officers through an open window.

McCree, who has past convictions for domestic violence in 2002 and drugs in 2006, allegedly locked the bedroom door and held a loaded shotgun to keep her from escaping, police said at the time McCree was arrested.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Rock Hill man who bit wife, held her hostage gets probation."