Lower Burrell man faces 42 charges after neighbors accuse him of pointing loaded shotgun at group playing yard games

A Lower Burrell man faces 42 charges, including 10 felonies, because a neighbor accused him of pointing a loaded shotgun at 10 people playing games in their backyard.

Bryan M. Sarnosky, 48, of the 200 block of Michigan Avenue, was charged with 10 counts of felony aggravated assault, along with 10 counts each of making terroristic threats, simple assault and reckless endangerment. He also was charged with loitering, as well as vandalism, for defecating in the patrol car on the way to jail and in his cell, according to court documents.

Sarnosky is being detained in Westmoreland County Prison after bond was denied at his arraignment because he is considered a danger to the community, court records show.

A preliminary hearing on the charges is scheduled for May 3 before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec.

Police were dispatched to a home on Hilltop Drive shortly after 10 p.m. April 23 for a report of a man who walked into their backyard and was pointing a “large” gun at a group of people playing yard games, according to a criminal complaint.

Officers said two men were trying to wrestle the gun from a man they later identified as Sarnosky as they arrived at the house. As officers approached the struggle, one of the men disarmed Sarnosky and he was taken into custody.

The backyard of Sarnosky’s home faces the yard where the incident happened.

The two men who tried to get the gun away from Sarnosky told police they saw him standing near the backyard shed and repeatedly raise the gun to his shoulder and point it at the group.

They told police the gun was equipped with a blue laser sight they could see shining around their backyard.

The men told police they approached Sarnosky to try to “calm him down.” They said he told them he was in their backyard because he “heard a noise.” He also repeatedly told the men that he was with the FBI, police said.

Police said they interviewed the 10 people at the house, and they corroborated details of the incident, the complaint said.

Sarnosky had two rounds of buckshot loaded in the 12-gauge shotgun with one round ready to be fired along with five rounds in a holder clipped to the stock, according to the complaint.