A West Deer man was charged with felony aggravated assault after police accused him of shooting fireworks at officers before barricading himself inside his home and setting it on fire.

William J. Bryar, 54, also faces charges of reckless endangerment and arson in connection with an incident at his home in the 3500 block of Huntertown Road on Wednesday.

When police took Bryar into custody, he was turned over to medics and transported from the scene by ambulance. No information was available about whether he had injuries.

A date for a preliminary hearing on the charges before District Judge Tom Swan has not yet been scheduled as of Thursday afternoon, according to court records.

Police wrote in a criminal complaint charging Bryar that his son called police to the house shortly before 12:30 p.m. to conduct a welfare check because Bryar was suffering from depression and having suicidal thoughts.

Bryar’s son told police that his father had a flare gun and a sword and was threatening to turn the gas on and blow up the house, according to the complaint.

Authorities said Bryar fired Roman candles from an upstairs window as West Deer officers Brian Dobson and Dominic Rigous approached the house, ordering them to “get out of here,” the complaint said.

The six shots from the fireworks narrowly missed the officers and struck a police cruiser, the complaint said.

A police sergeant who arrived on scene called for firefighters to respond after seeing smoke billowing from the house and flames on the first floor.

The North Hills Special Response Team was dispatched to the scene after Bryar barricaded himself inside.

Firefighters from multiple departments arrived on scene but had to begin setting up operations from a distance while police tried to negotiate with Bryar to surrender, said Josh Wiegand, chief of West Deer Fire Company No. 3.

Wiegand said the fire started in the kitchen, and nearly half of the first floor was burning before crews could begin extinguishing flames.

The fire chief said they were called to the home at least twice in the past three years for complaints about burning.

Court records show that Bryar pleaded guilty to an illegal open burning citation in August 2020 and was ordered to pay a fine.

Bryar also has been convicted of driving under the influence multiple times.

In July 2020, he pleaded guilty to a third DUI and was sentenced to two years probation and a year of electronic monitoring, court records show.

One of Bryar’s previous DUI convictions was followed by a charge of driving a vehicle without an ignition interlock, which is used to prevent someone from driving if they are intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to that charged and was sentenced to six months probation, according to court records.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)