City man accused of holding 4 against their will
Velez arraigned on felony counts
A city man is behind bars after allegedly holding four people, including three juveniles, against their will in a Fifth Avenue residence while armed with a knife.
Daniel Jonathon Velez, 30, was arraigned Thursday by Magisterial District Judge Daniel C. DeAntonio on three felony counts each of unlawful restraint of a minor, false imprisonment of a minor and endangering the welfare of children, a single felony count of intimidating a witness, as well as single misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, criminal mischief, obstructing the administration of law enforcement, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Unable to post $25,000 bail, he was remanded to Blair County Prison.
Altoona police were dispatched to a residence along the 800 block of Fifth Avenue about 7 p.m. on Sunday for a domestic disturbance reported by a third party caller. Velez answered the door and officers saw the victim and her three children huddled in a corner inside, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Upon seeing the officers, Velez ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and held it to his neck. After a brief de-escalation, Velez was disarmed and placed in custody. When he was searched, officers located a small container of suspected marijuana, court documents state.
In an interview, the victim said Velez told her he was taking her children away. She told officers the children — 7 years old, 2 years old and 9 months old — became fearful of Velez as he grabbed at them to remove them from the home. When the victim kept the children from Velez, he became angrier and got a knife from the kitchen. He then held it to his neck and threatened to kill himself, the police report stated.
According to court documents, the victim said she took the children into an upstairs bedroom, where she intended to call 911, but was followed by Velez. Still armed with the knife, Velez tried to take the 9-month-old from the victim, but the victim fought him off and began yelling for help. The victim told officers she then tried calling 911 herself but Velez smashed her phone.
The victim said she took the children downstairs to escape out the front door and was so fearful that she didn’t take the time to put shoes on herself or the children.
Officers noted it was about 15 degrees outside and snowing. The victim said when she tried to open the door, Velez pushed, and then held it shut and told her that he wasn’t going to let anyone leave, police records state.
Velez is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in front of DeAntonio on Feb. 5.