Donald T. Gazaway, 31, was charged with kidnapping, felonious assault and inducing panic after the incident that started Jan. 12 at a Liberty Twp. apartment in the Springs at Liberty Township complex located off Hamilton Mason Road.
A Butler County grand jury handed down an indictment with additional charges of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and two counts of having weapons under disability.
Gazaway, who is being held in jail on a $1,001,000 bond, was in Butler County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday for a final hearing before his July 7 trial.
Defense attorney David Albrecht told Judge Charles Pater that at this point here is no reason to set another hearing before the four-day trial.
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Detectives say Gazaway was let into the apartment and there was an altercation. The adults, including the alleged hostage’s mother, fled. But Gazaway took the child hostage before surrendering hours later, according to police.
Detective Joe Nerlinger said during a previous court hearing that about 25 bullet casings were removed from the scene and that Gazaway fired the majority of the shots from the apartment before moving to the garage with the child.
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When taken into custody, three guns were found with Gazaway, Nerlinger testified. Live rounds were also found.
The child was not physically injured, according to the sheriff’s office, though officers said they saw Gazaway use the boy as a shield. That, they said, prevented them from making any movement toward the residence.
During the standoff, the child cried, “Let me go, let me go,” Nerlinger testified.
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