Bradin Bender

A man who was charged as an adult for allegedly pointing a loaded handgun at several people when he was 17 pleaded guilty to multiple charges in Butler County Court on Tuesday.

Bradin A. Bender, 18, of Butler pleaded guilty to misdemeanor terroristic threats and three counts of recklessly endangering another person before county Judge Timothy McCune. The plea agreement calls for 12 months' probation for the threats charge and six months of consecutive probation for each of the recklessly endangering charges.

It also calls for restitution and fines.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Lope also said that the plea makes Bender prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms.

Bender's attorney, Jeffrey Thompson, asked that he be released from Butler County Prison, where he is currently held on $100,000 bail, pending sentencing on June 8. Judge McCune said Bender would be released pending a parole plan and an adult parole intake assessment.

Bender was initially charged with felony aggravated assault, misdemeanor possession of a firearm by a minor, terroristic threats and three counts of recklessly endangering another person after an incident outside a home on Michael Avenue near Center Avenue around 7 p.m. Dec. 22.

He was arrested on a warrant after 19-year-old Chad Foote reported to Butler police that he had been confronted by a male with a gun. Foote told police that the suspect was one of three people who he believed had followed him home from a store. He described the male as being white and wearing a red Chicago Bulls sweatshirt, according to court documents.

The suspect, Foote reported, pulled a pistol from his waistband, loaded it and pointed it at the victim and made a derogatory comment, according to court documents.

Watching from the doorway was Foote's girlfriend and nearby was a 5-year-old boy, who also lives there, police said.

No injuries were reported.

The suspect, later identified as Bender, eventually fled. Foote's girlfriend apparently recognized the defendant, police said.