Man Threatened Neighbor In Meriden: Police

MERIDEN, CT — A man is accused of threatening his neighbor during an incident Saturday in Meriden, according to police.

Police responded to Meetinghouse Village on a report of a man trying to break into his neighbor’s house.

While responding to the scene, officers were updated that the man was armed with an axe, according to police. The officers met with a woman who said she was the caller and provided a description of the man, police said.

While police were looking for the man, they could hear a man talking loudly. Police then found a man matching the suspect’s description standing on the porch of a unit.

“He was ranting and advised to come outside,” police wrote in a news release.

The man, who was later identified as Joseph Coimbre, came outside and was told to get onto the ground and on his knees, according to police.

Police said Coimbre complied and was “handcuffed for his safety.”

Witnesses told police that Coimbre said he was going to “slit the neighbor’s throat,” according to the news release.

While speaking to witnesses, a small hatchet was found in the living room, according to police.

Another witness told police that he was “woken up by a bang and then heard someone yelling,” the news release states. The witness said that Coimbre was “picking up boulders and throwing them on the ground,” according to police.

The witness said that he saw Coimbre damage a truck and several other items, according to police.

Coimbre, 28, was arrested on charges of first-degree criminal mischief, second-degree breach of peace and second-degree threatening. He was held in lieu of a $7,500 bond.