PRESCOTT, Ariz. — A man who allegedly made death threats and barricaded himself within his home in Prescott was arrested on Saturday, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office.
YCSO received 911 calls on Saturday, July 13 about a man making death threats in Diamond Valley, a neighborhood in Prescott, including a 911 call from the man himself during which he allegedly threatened violent acts to the public safety dispatchers. The suspect was identified as 73-year-old Virgil Neigel, who has a criminal history of aggravated assault and threatening law enforcement.
Neigel allegedly made death threats to a neighbor who resides at an elder care home next door, authorities said. The threats prompted the care home to go on lockdown to secure the residents from harm.
Patrol deputies learned that Neigel was inside his home, but he refused to come out when deputies attempted to call him out.
YCSO dispatch received another phone call from someone familiar with Neigel, authorities said. The caller claimed they had a very recent conversation with the suspect who stated that he would not go back to jail and would force a deadly encounter if law enforcement became involved. Authorities also learned Neigel was highly intoxicated.
Authorities said Neigel was on felony probation for a Yavapai Superior Court conviction in 2022 for aggravated assault for pointing a gun at a neighbor and pulling the trigger — the gun did not go off — and a conviction in the 1980s for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. Because of his criminal history and his repeated refusal to leave his house, YCSO and the Prescott Valley Police Department readied the Quick Response Team for a barricade situation with a dangerous person.
After hours of trying to get Neigel to surrender, authorities called in a full SWAT response.
Once SWAT entered Neigel's house, PVPD responded with a K9 who located Neigel hiding in a room behind a wall, with a hatchet on the floor next to his hand.
Neigel was arrested and taken to the hospital for medical treatment for serious intoxication and injuries he got during his arrest. Neigel will be booked and is facing charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and threatening or intimidating, authorities said.
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