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More standoff details come in court documents

Court documents available Monday offered a few additional details about Saturday’s standoff and stabbing in Butler Township.

Kenneth E. Snyder Jr., 38, of Butler Township, is charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor terroristic threats, after he was accused of stabbing his domestic partner and later refusing to leave his home as he threatened police.

Snyder remains in Butler County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bond set by arraigning District Judge Kevin Flaherty.

According to charging documents, police were dispatched at 3:31 p.m. to 101 Freeport Road, where they found Snyder’s partner with multiple stab wounds. Police noted the man was stabbed in the sternum, right thigh, left thigh and left hand.

Police said they found Snyder sitting on a sofa on the third floor, and he was concealing his hands.

“Snyder warned officers that he was not going to jail, (and) that if they ‘piled on to him,’ he would get to them first and kill them,” police said.

Police said as Snyder began his threats, they backed down to the bottom of the stairs and took defensive steps while Snyder “fortified” the third floor. Police said Snyder had multiple edged weapons and a compound bow near him.

Police said multiple family members also tried to calm Snyder, including his father, who told officers about a phone call he received around 8 a.m.

“He told him that he loved him and goodbye,” police said. “That he was going to kill police today, so they will kill him ... that if they do not show, he would cut a gas line and blow up the house.”

The affidavit does not detail the moments of Snyder’s arrest.

The standoff with police lasted about four hours as police also called upon the Butler County Emergency Services Unit to assist them. An armored vehicle was parked in front of the home, and police officers donned tactical gear, gas masks and carried rifles.

Bystanders saw two dogs carried from the home to safety. Traffic was blocked entirely on that section of Freeport Road throughout the incident.

A preliminary hearing for Snyder has tentatively been scheduled for Thursday before District Judge Kevin O’Donnell.

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