COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A Colerain man faces charges, including one charge of swatting, after he allegedly made a false 911 call claiming he'd cut his wife's head off.
The call prompted a police response and, when 53-year-old Bennie Burch refused to exit his home, a larger SWAT standoff that lasted three hours, according to court documents.
Burch also faces one count of inducing panic and another of making false alarms; all three charges are felonies. He is currently in the Hamilton County Justice Center under a $40,000 bond.
According to court documents, Burch called 911 on April 17 and told dispatchers he'd "cut his wife's head off." Burch then refused orders from law enforcement to leave his house, prompting a standoff.
"When officers eventually made contact with the defendant via phone, the defendant continued to reiterate that he had cut someone's head off and wished for officers to make entry to arrest him," reads a document filed by one of the responding officers.
Burch allegedly told police when they came in, he would be sitting on the couch with a knife and officers should "do whatever they needed to do," court documents say.
Later, Burch told police the allegations he'd made on the 911 call were false. According to jail records, Burch was arrested that day and admitted into the Hamilton County Justice Center just before 5 p.m. on April 17. He was indicted by a grand jury on the three charges on April 27.
Currently, Burch is scheduled for an arraignment on May 5 at the Hamilton County courthouse, where he will have the opportunity to input his plea.
Watch Live:
