FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A man who barricaded himself inside his apartment in Fort Lauderdale on Monday had attacked his 74-year-old mother and threatened her with a knife, authorities said.
According to his arrest report, Tom Joseph, 36, lives at the apartment in the 300 block of Southwest 27th Terrace with his mother.
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Fort Lauderdale police said the victim was in the kitchen making tea when Joseph approached her and asked if she had taken his wallet.
The victim told police that she denied taking his wallet, but her son became irate and began throwing objects around the apartment.
According to the arrest report, the victim went into her bedroom to get away from Joseph, but Joseph followed her in, pushed her onto the bed and pointed a large kitchen knife at her while threatening to kill her.
Police said Joseph’s mother told him she was going to call the police and he took her cellphone from her and tossed it away.
The victim was able to retrieve her phone and she left the apartment before calling police, authorities said.
According to the report, Joseph barricaded himself inside the apartment, and after a couple of hours, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s SWAT team deployed a chemical agent inside the apartment to get him to come out.
Police said Joseph claimed that he “was only trying to get his mother to admit that he was innocent about something that happened 10 years ago.”
Authorities said he admitted to taking her phone, but denied threatening her with a knife.
According to the arrest report, Joseph initially told detectives that anything his mother told them was true, but later recanted, and said his mother was not truthful.
Joseph was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a person 65 years old or older and obstructing justice.