PRINCETON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A man was arrested after allegedly brandishing a sword during a domestic dispute in Mercer County.
On November 20, 2024, at approximately 4:25 a.m., Mercer County deputies responded to a call at 142 Short Street in the Princeton area regarding a brandishing complaint. According to Mercer E-911, the complainant reported that her son, under the influence of an unknown narcotic, was armed with a sword and attempting to force entry into the residence.
Upon arrival, law enforcement officers, including Sgt. G.C. Paitsel and Cpl. T.A. Lacy, located the suspect, identified as Gary Sanders Jr., behind the residence near a series of bushes. Although unarmed at the time, deputies observed the blade of a sword partially visible beneath a bush near Sanders. When questioned about the incident, Sanders denied having a weapon and claimed the complainant was not his mother.
The complainant told deputies her son had been awake for three days prior to the incident. She alleged that Sanders had been pacing around the residence with the sword and refused to put it down despite her requests. She recounted an alarming encounter where Sanders approached her in the bathroom and, when asked to drop the sword, brandished it in a threatening manner, telling her, “Shut up, you’re not my mom.”
Fearing for her safety, she locked herself in the house and called 911 after Sanders left the residence and began pacing in the backyard with the weapon.
Deputies recovered the sword from the bush and confirmed that it was the weapon involved.
Sanders was taken into custody and charged with Domestic Assault and Brandishing a Deadly Weapon. He was transported to the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department for processing before being transferred to the Southern Regional Jail.
