BESSEMER, MI-- Police have released the name of an Ironwood Township man who had a standoff with police Tuesday.
The Gogebic County Sheriff’s Office was called to Vanderhagen Road around 2 p.m. on a report that a man had shot a pellet gun at his neighbor’s house. When deputies confronted Leonard Hellier, 47, he threatened them while holding a machete. Officers tazed him, but Hellier got back into his house and barricaded himself inside with weapons.
Negotiations eventually failed, and the Gogebic-Iron County SWAT team broke into the house to find Hellier with a hatchet. After a struggle they took him into custody.
Hellier is charged with two counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and one count of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent.
He remains lodged in the Gogebic County Jail on a $300,000 bond.