Bucks Man Pointed Rifle At Police In 3-Hour Standoff: Court Records

FALLS TOWNSHIP, PA —Details have emerged involving a three-hour standoff Saturday in which a Levittown man pointed a rifle at Falls Township police officers, yelled obscenities, and made threats to them, police said.

Rio Joseph DeMaio, 43, is being held in Bucks County Prison on 10 percent of $1 million bail after being preliminarily arraigned by District Judge Mark Douple on charges of aggravated assault, possession of a weapon, terroristic threats, simple assault, and reckless endangerment.

At 10:49 p.m. on Saturday, the Falls Township Police Department was dispatched to 35 Teaberry Lane in the township's Levittown section for a report about a man shooting a weapon in the rear yard of the residence, according to a criminal complaint released by the Falls Township Police Department on Sunday.

Three officers went around the home on both sides with their weapons drawn, finding DeMaio sitting at a table on the rear patio of the residence.

DeMaio was "yelling" on his cellular phone about the "feds," saying that "people were watching him" and that he was "tired of it," the criminal complaint states.

The complaint states that Sgt. Raymond Fanelli and Officer Jeffrey Omlor began making contact with DeMaio, announcing "police" to DeMaio. DeMaio replied, "Get the f**k out of here. I'll f**king shoot you."

DeMaio got out of his seat and moved toward the officers with Officer Jonathan Caesar observing that DeMaio was armed with a rifle, court records state.

DeMaio lifted the rifle and pointed it directly at Caesar, who illuminated DeMaio with his rifle-mounted flashlight, confirming that DeMaio was armed, and firing two rounds at DeMaio, the complaint states.

DeMaio retreated into the home. At that time, it was unknown whether DeMaio had been struck by gunfire, the complaint said.

A barricade was then set up around the home, and several tactical teams were called in to mitigate the incident.

At 2:30 a.m., DeMaio exited the rear of the home and was taken into custody without incident, the complaint said. DeMaio was not injured.

While taking DeMaio into custody, Sgt. Daniel Errigo of the Bensalem Police Department spotted at least four spent shotgun shells on the ground in the rear of the home, the complaint states.

The home was secured by tactical officers, and they found that the house was no longer occupied.

At 2:35 a.m., officers spoke by phone with a neighbor who said he heard at least six gunshots over a 15-minute period being fired from the backyard of DeMaio's home, the complaint states.

The neighbor said, while not seeing DeMaio, that he could hear him screaming, "F**k the police" and "Get out of the tree."

The neighbor told police he heard DeMaio "cocking" a gun on several occasions and was not sure in what direction DeMaio was shooting his firearm, which led him to contact the police.