A Butler man who barricaded himself in a Mercer Street residence after pointing what police believed at the time to be an AR-15-style rifle at a 5-year-old boy will undergo residential treatment at VA Butler Healthcare before his trial.

Keith Barnes, 66, waived his preliminary hearing Monday, Sept. 28, before District Judge William Fullerton after an Aug. 16 standoff shut down Mercer Street.

Police said Barnes was mowing his lawn then went inside, brought out an orange and black gun and pointed it at a 5-year-old boy, his father and another man who were passing by. Police later searched the man’s home and found the rifle was actually a Tippmann paintball gun.

Barnes was charged with three felony counts of aggravated assault; three misdemeanor counts each of simple assault, terroristic threats and reckless endangerment; and one misdemeanor count each of evading arrest and disorderly conduct.

Barnes has completed a mental health evaluation since being charged, according to public defender Terri Schultz.

Fullerton granted Barnes unsecured bail at the hearing so he may be released to VA Butler Healthcare’s Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program.

The program provides services and a bed for veterans as they seek social services and care for PTSD, depression or substance use disorder, according to its website. Barnes must stay on campus for the duration of the 6-month program and will be subject to pretrial supervision and electronic monitoring upon release. He is also to have no contact with the three people he allegedly threatened.

Police said they were dispatched for a report that a man mowing his lawn had pointed an orange and black rifle at someone. The man who reported the incident said he was walking with his 5-year-old son in the area when Barnes spotted him, ran inside a house and emerged with a black and orange gun, which police said Barnes pointed at the two and threatened to shoot them. Police said he also threatened a second man who arrived at the scene later.

Butler city, township and state police then surrounded the house, blocked off the street and attempted to get Barnes to exit the residence but were unsuccessful. As police were paging the Butler County Emergency Services Unit, Barnes exited the home and surrendered without incident, police said.