A Villager’s son will not be prosecuted after allegedly threatening his mother over the volume of the television in their living room.
The prosecutor’s office this week announced no information will be filed in the case of 43-year-old Keith Nicholas Barnum who was arrested Dec. 29 at the home he shares with his mother at 730 Roseapple Ave. in the Village of Silver Lake.
“Victim has expressly indicated her desire that prosecution be abandoned in this cause and that she is not in fear of Defendant. As the sole witness, prosecution cannot be successfully pursued under these circumstances,” Assistant State Attorney Lenis Archer wrote in the announcement of no information.
Barnum was freed from the Lake County Jail, where he’d been held since his arrest.
Barnum’s mother came out of her bedroom and asked her son to turn down the volume.
Barnum, who had been drinking, told his mother she “needed to go back to her bedroom and stay there.” He pulled out a folding razor knife and threatened to kill her.
She grabbed her phone, fled to her bedroom and locked herself in the bathroom. She dialed 911.
Police arrived and took Barnum into custody. He had the folding razor knife in the pocket of his shorts. His mother showed police texts he had sent to her, threatening to kill her.
He was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and intimidation.
Barnum has a long history of arrests. Most recently, he was arrested in February at Margarita Republic at Spanish Springs Town Square. He had been arrested in January 2021 in another disturbance at the square.
Barnum has a tattoo which reads, “Dear Mom, You have given me life and in return, I have given you Hell. Please forgive me for my sins. Love, Keith.”
In 2018, he was arrested after crashing his mother’s car.
