GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – A 40-year-old man who held Clay County deputies at bay for a couple of hours Tuesday morning surrendered peacefully, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office SWAT team was called because the man may have been armed, was acting erratically, and his teenage son was not being allowed to leave the house. The teenager was unharmed.
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The Sheriff's Office said Richard Heselschwerdt was arrested and charged with domestic battery when booked into the Clay County jail later Tuesday.
According to the arrest report, Heselschwerdt poked his wife in her left eye during a confrontation and threatened if she anyone to help her or to take his son, he would shoot them. He then went into his sleeping son's bedroom where firearms are stored and closed the door.
When deputies arrived, they escorted the wife from the house and kept the house surrounded until Heselschwerdt surrendered.
The wife told deputies that Heselschwerdt had never been aggressive with her or her son in the past.
Nearby neighbors on Eaton Drive, southwest of Green Cove Springs, were allowed to return to their homes after the man surrendered.