Timothy W. O’Hara, 46, of Dittmer has been charged with six felonies for reportedly breaking into a home in the 600 block of South Adams Street in Festus. A 76-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman who live there were home when O’Hara allegedly stormed in, Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis said.
The incident occurred about 4:20 a.m. Sept. 22, when O’Hara allegedly forced his way into the home and started screaming about a woman he believed lived there, but he was at the wrong house, Lewis said.
“As far as we know, there were no connections between the intruder and the residents,” Lewis said. “They said he kept screaming. He was looking for a girl he thought lived there.”
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, O’Hara used a knife to cut the screen of the front door and then a metal welding hammer to break the glass in the door. After that, he allegedly entered the home and went into a bedroom where the 72-year-old woman was sleeping and demanded she tell him where he could find the woman he was looking for.
The 72-year-old woman reportedly told O’Hara there was no one with that name at the home. Then, the suspect allegedly threatened her with a knife, and when the 76-year-old man confronted O’Hara, he pushed down the older man.
The male victim went to get help from a neighbor, who gave the 76-year-old a gun, and then he and the neighbor returned to the house O’Hara had broken into and confronted O’Hara, the report said.
During the confrontation, the 76-year-old lost the gun to the intruder, and at one point during the confrontation, O’Hara allegedly tried to fire the gun at the 76-year-old, but there was no round in the chamber, the probable-cause statement said.
“Fortunately, the police officers arrived at that time and took (O’Hara) into custody,” Lewis said.
Officers found O’Hara with a knife and took it. The officers also took possession of the gun the 76-year-old had borrowed, Lewis said.
He said the 76-year-old man sustained some cuts and bruises from the fight and some cuts to both of his feet from the broken glass from the front door.
O’Hara allegedly told police he had used methamphetamine a few hours earlier and threatened to return to the home once released from custody, the probable-cause statement said.
Festus Police arrested O’Hara at the scene, and the same day the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged him with two counts of first-degree assault, each one a class A felony; two counts of armed criminal action, which are unclassified felonies; one count of first-degree burglary, a class B felony; and one count of unlawful use of a weapon, a class E felony.
O’Hara’s bond request was denied, according to court records.
“He was out on parole and was turned over to the Department of Corrections,” Lewis said.
If convicted of the charges from the Sept. 22 incident, O’Hara faces 10 to 30 years or life in prison for each of the class A felonies; up to 15 years in prison for the class B felony; up to four years in prison for the class E felony; and a minimum of three years in prison for each of the unclassified felonies.