PHOENIX — A 73-year-old Arizona man was arrested Saturday night after he allegedly made death threats and barricaded himself in his own home, authorities said.
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office responded to multiple reports of threats being made from the suspect, identified as Virgil Nagel, of Diamond Valley.
The investigation revealed that Nagel had been making death threats to a neighbor who lives in a senior care facility next door to the suspect. Nagel was at home when YCSO gave verbal commands to come outside and was unresponsive.
As authorities were attempting to arrest Nagel, they received a call from someone who had recently spoken with the suspect. Authorities reported that Nagel had no plans to return to prison and would become violent if provoked by police. Police then discovered the suspect's home was on lockdown.
After hours of trying to convince the suspect to turn himself in, YCSO obtained a search warrant and called in a SWAT team to intervene. The SWAT team moved in, and the Prescott Valley Police Department also brought in a police dog, and found Nagel hiding in a room behind a wall. The suspect was highly intoxicated, and a hatchet was found on the floor, next to his hand.
Authorities arrested Nagel and transported him to a nearby hospital for medical supervision and treatment for intoxication and injuries sustained during the arrest.
He will be arrested and charged with one count of resisting arrest, one count of disturbing the peace and one count of threatening or intimidating.
According to the suspect's criminal history, he is currently on felony probation for an aggravated assault case in which he pointed a gun at a female neighbor and pulled the trigger in November 2022. In the 1980s, Nagel was convicted of aggravated assault on a police officer.
