A Summerfield man was arrested for assault after allegedly threatening to kill his family with a lighter in the shape of a pistol.
Deputies responded to a verbal disturbance at an undisclosed Marion County residence around 7:30 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Upon their arrival, the complainant advised that his son, 44-year-old Ramesh Singh, was being belligerent. He was threatening to shoot and kill everyone in the residence.
The deputies called out to Singh to step outside of the residence, to which he complied. One of the deputies then spoke to the complainant and his wife, the witness, the report said.
The couple advised that at about 7:15 p.m., Singh arrived at the house intoxicated. He lived at the residence with them and their two other sons, the victims, as a family. He began to get belligerent at about 7:30 p.m. and stated everyone who was inside the residence was going to jail, the report said.
The complainant stated this was not the first time Singh had come to the house and acted this way. He continued to be belligerent, saying they were all going to die. The complainant’s wife and the victims all moved to safety in the garage while the complainant told dispatch Singh had a firearm, the report said.
The deputy then spoke with one of the victims who stated he was in the garage when he heard Singh yelling from the living room. He left the garage to go to his bedroom, and Singh followed behind threatening to “blow everyone’s head off.” The victim turned and saw a glimpse of what looked like a firearm in Singh’s hand, the report said.
The victim believed it was a light tan handgun. After seeing this, Singh quickly put it away in his clothing. The victim walked back into the garage to tell the complainant. He did not want to escalate the situation out of fear he was going to be shot by Singh, the report said.
At the time, the victim did not know that what he thought was a firearm was really a lighter. The victim saw the description of the lighter and believed it was a handgun, the report said.
The deputy then spoke to the second victim who advised that he was inside his bedroom with headphones on until he heard yelling coming from the living room. He stepped out and saw Singh being belligerent. The victim was inside the garage after dispatch told the family to get to a safe spot far from Singh, the report said.
The victim stated his brother told him Singh had a firearm. He also heard Singh say he was going to kill everyone inside the residence. He feared Singh had a real firearm, the report said.
The complainant and his wife advised that once they saw what appeared to be a firearm, they knew it was a lighter from Singh previously using it. At the time of the report, the firearm was determined to be a lighter. It looked like a firearm, as it was a light tan in the shape of a pistol, about 4in in size, the report said.
Singh was subsequently arrested for two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. He was transported to Marion County Jail to be held without bond.