Arnold police claim city man armed with arsenal threatened to kill officers

Arnold police said they heard the distinct sound of a bullet being loaded into the chamber of an AR-15 rifle when they went into a home near their station after hearing a woman screaming.

In a criminal complaint, police said James Earl Huckbaa threatened to kill officers if they didn’t get out of his house, where they later found a room full of guns and ammunition.

Huckabaa, 65, of Sixth Avenue, was arraigned Wednesday before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. on charges stemming from the Jan. 25 incident. He was released after posting 10% of a $50,000 bail.

Huckabaa did not have an attorney listed in court records.

The complaint said an Arnold officer got out of his car at the Drey Street police station around 10 p.m. Jan. 25 and heard a woman hollering from the back porch of a nearby house and motioning for the officer to come over.

Police said the woman told an officer that Huckabaa was inside with a gun to his head.

The woman later told police that Huckabaa had been drinking a lot of beer that night and they had been arguing. She told police that he took out a gun and threatened to kill her and then himself.

The woman said Huckabaa fired one shot into the ceiling, then leaned forward and pointed the gun at his head.

She said he pulled the trigger, but somehow the round missed and went into a wall. He then placed the weapon in his mouth, which was when she went outside to flag down the officer.

Police said Huckabaa appeared at the back door shortly after an officer made contact with the woman, who hid behind a grill on the porch. An officer drew his gun and told Huckabaa to show his hands. Police said Huckabaa shook his head “no,” waved and closed the door.

Officers got the woman off the porch and into a nearby police vehicle. She was not hurt.

New Kensington officers arrived and a perimeter was established around the house.

When officers opened the back door to try to contact Huckabaa, the complaint said an officer saw a black handgun on the kitchen counter. An officer reached in and grabbed it.

Police said Huckabaa responded after several minutes of yelling. That’s when police said they immediately heard the sound of the rifle being loaded.

The complaint said Huckabaa told police from a stairwell leading to the second floor, “I have enough firearms up here that you’re going to need a SWAT team to get me out of this house,” followed by, “You’re going to have to shoot me,” and “If you come up these stairs, I’m going to kill you.”

Police said Huckabaa told them the matter was just an argument between himself and the woman, that he had the right to fire a gun in his house and that “the only way out of this is that one of us is going to be dead.”

An emergency response team was called for, but later canceled.

After several minutes of negotiating, police said Huckabaa agreed to come down unarmed if officers holstered their weapons. One officer placed his firearm at a “low ready,” while the other held his ready to shoot, the complaint states.

Officers confirmed Huckabaa was not armed and handcuffed him. He was taken to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison for a mental health evaluation.

Police said there was broken glass all over the living room floor, where they found a spent shell casing. Bullet holes were found in the ceiling and a wall.

Police said they discovered a “gun room” on the second floor. In it, police said they found a Bushmaster AR-15 on a gun bench and a 12-gauge, pump action shotgun leaning against a chair.

Police said both were loaded and pointed in the direction of the stairwell.

Police said the room also contained two large gun cabinets with numerous firearms of multiple calibers. Police said they saw two 1,000-round metal ammunition cans containing ammo, along with other boxes of ammunition and several hunting bows throughout the room.

Police charged Huckabaa with aggravated assault, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, making terroristic threats and reckless endangerment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 25.