Butler man, 58, arrested after alleged gun threat
A man faces a hearing next month on charges that he threatened two women at a Butler apartment building by indicating he had a gun.
City police arrested Darryl R. Brown, 58, of Butler following the Aug. 12 incident on the 400 block of West New Castle Street. No one was injured.
Brown is charged with misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, disorderly conduct and defiant trespass. He is free on $5,000 bail.
Police said they were called around 5:30 p.m. for a report of a man, who was believed to have a gun, attempting to get into an apartment. The man subsequently left.
Officers found Brown, who matched the suspect's description, a short time later at a convenience store on West Jefferson Street. The alleged victims later identified him as the man who threatened them.
No gun was found, police said, in connection with the investigation.
One of the victims told officers that she had been hired by the landlord to paint and do remodeling work at one of the apartments at the West New Castle Street building.
She said she was working when she heard a commotion in the hallway. She went to check and came upon Brown and another woman engaged in a sex act, according to charging documents.
The victim told both of them to leave.
Brown, the woman recounted, stated he was ”going to go around the corner and return with a gun,” Patrolman Nicholas Shulik said in his affidavit.
The suspect left, but returned about 20 minutes later. The woman said Brown entered the apartment where she and the other victim, also hired to do remodeling work, were working.
Both victims told police that the defendant had his right hand behind his back, suggesting he had a firearm, the affidavit said. Both women feared he had a gun.
Documents also noted that a third woman, a tenant at the building, told police that Brown threatened to shoot in her door.
Police reviewed surveillance cameras, which captured the defendant on video around 5:30 p.m. walking in the courtyard at the building.
The video showed him “with his right hand behind his back and in his waistband,” the affidavit said, “indicating he has a firearm,” before he entered the building.
Brown's preliminary hearing is Sept. 9. He could not be reached for comment.
