A West Liberty man was arrested Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 19, after he injured a female victim in a physical altercation, threatened to kill himself and shoot other people at a residence in the 300 block of State Route 508.
Deputies of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office were contacted by the assault victim, who advised that Benjamin Chamberlin, 24, was armed with a loaded handgun in the basement, and had thrown her to the ground and threatened to shoot everyone in the residence if he heard law enforcement approaching the home.
Deputies and an officer of the West Liberty Police Department responded to the scene about 4:10 p.m. At that time, two females — one of whom was the assault victim who sustained possible broken ribs — were able to escape from the front door of the house and were escorted to safety by the West Liberty officer.
Deputies set up a perimeter around the home.
About 5 p.m., Chamberlin exited the dwelling through the garage door and complied with deputies when given verbal commands to raise his hands and drop to his knees before being handcuffed.
The suspect was taken into custody without further incident and was lodged in the county jail on one count of domestic violence.
A fully loaded, 15-round Canik 9mm handgun was recovered from a holster on Chamberlin’s waistband, deputies said. The weapon’s chamber was empty, according to reports.
The injured woman told law enforcement she and the suspect were arguing about the use of a vehicle when he grabbed her from behind, picked her up and slammed her to the ground.
People familiar with the suspect told law enforcement that Chamberlin has anger issues which had gotten progressively worse and that they had sought to get him mental health treatment, which he refused.
