WHITEWATER TOWNSHIP, Ohio — As Michael McMillen Jr. entered the Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday to face charges including strangulation and child endangerment, he was greeted by the judge who was woken from sleep the night before to sign a search warrant for McMillen's home.
"Strangulation is a felony," the judge said to begin proceedings, "and all these stay together, and they say he had an AR-15 in his house?"
McMillen was arrested early Wednesday morning following an hours-long standoff with police that caused nearby neighbors in the Westbrook Village Mobile Home Park to evacuate in the dead of night.
"Pretty much homeless — sitting outside, didn't have anything," said Jonathan Kester. "Grab what you could get in the moment and you have to leave because there's a hostage situation with a man taking his kids."
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Police said McMillen barricaded himself inside the home with his four kids and several guns. His wife called 911 and told dispatchers it hadn't been the first time he'd been violent.
"He's pointed a gun at me and told me he's going to kill me before," she said. "And he's physically been violent to me I couldn't even tell you how many times. I just, I never reported it basically."
Christy Burch, CEO of the Ion Center for Violence Prevention, said it's imperative that victims of domestic violence and the community that surrounds them pay attention to subtle or obvious signs of potential violence and act before it's too late.
"Intimate partner violence is all about power and control," Burch said.
She described warning signs as jealous or controlling behavior, aggression and forcing a partner to isolate from friends, family or others.
"We can't always predict what situation might be lethal, and what we need to do as a community is see those early warning signs and do something about it safely," Burch said.
McMillen was ordered to be held on a $60,000 bond. The judge at his hearing rejected a state request he be issued a $200,000 bond but quipped that the stay-at-home dad wouldn't be leaving custody.
"He's not going anywhere, and not because he woke me up," he said. "That's got nothing to do with it."
Burch urged anyone who believes they may be in an abusive relationship to seek help as soon as possible from organizations like the Ion Center, Women Helping Women, or the YWCA.
The National Domestic Abuse hotline is also available at 800-799-7233.
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