Man faces kidnapping, 5 other charges in connection to standoff in Le Sueur
39-year-old Bobby Joe Angeloff is facing six charges in Le Sueuer County Court in connection to a standoff he had with police on Saturday where he reportedly held a 6-year-old hostage.
Angeloff has been charged with felony kidnapping, child endangerment, threats of violence, two counts of domestic assault and a misdemeanor property damage charge. In total, he faces up to almost 41 years in prison for the charges should he be found guilty.
According to the charging document, the standoff began following an argument between Angeloff and his girlfriend. The couple had gotten a phone call from their landlord, who said that they might not be able to renew their lease due to a domestic-related incident on Christmas.
According to Angelhoff’s girlfriend, he blamed her for the incident, and the couple began to argue over the phone while she was at work.
The girlfriend returned home and said she was planning on staying somewhere else.
However, after she refused to tell Angeloff where she planned on going, he reportedly backed her up against the wall and yelled at her, threatening to kill her before going outside and slashing her vehicle’s tires.
When the woman went outside to examine the damage and call the police, Angeloff then locked the doors to the house, resulting in the ensuing standoff.
According to the charging document, Angeloff was very hostile to police when they arrived, screaming profanities at them from an upstairs room where he and the 6-year-old were.
Police said Angeloff refused to let the 6-year-old out of the room, stating, “This is not a hostage situation,” and that he “wasn’t doing anything” to police.
At one point, when police attempted to get close to the room Angelhoff was inside, they asked to hear the child to ensure they were okay.
However, because the child was special needs and often had difficulty speaking, the child instead knocked on the door, though police believe they heard a child’s voice behind the door as well.
Police asked that Angelhoff give them the child and that they would head back downstairs, to which they began to hit the door, possibly with a hammer.
Due to the hostility, officers felt they should head back downstairs.
The charging documents did not detail how the standoff ended but said at some point, Angelhoff released the child and was taken into custody.
The child was taken to the hospital and evaluated, where it was determined they had not sustained any physical harm. However, the charging document said the child suffered “extreme emotional trauma” as a result of being held as a hostage.
The child was released into the custody of his mother and their siblings. The document stated child protection would be involved but said due to the child’s special needs, it would be better to stay with his mother because he was familiar with her,