Staff Report

Kenneth U. Byrd

WARSAW — A Warsaw man was recently arrested after allegedly using a machete-style knife to threaten a man.

Kenneth U. Byrd, 40, 805 South Side Drive, Warsaw, is charged with intimidation with a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony; battery to a public safety official, a level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor; and disorderly conduct, a class B misdemeanor.

On Dec. 26, a Warsaw Police officer responded to a fight in progress involving a knife. Upon arrival at the residence, the officer saw Byrd holding a machete-style knife in his hand.

According to court documents, the officer gave Byrd several commands to put the knife down, and Byrd refused to do so. At one point, Byrd stabbed a kitchen table with the knife, and the knife fell to the ground. The officer ordered Byrd to step toward him and Byrd refused. When the officer grabbed Byrd’s right arm to guide him away from the knife, Byrd allegedly swung his left hand and shoved the officer off-balance into a living room.

A man at the home then rushed toward Byrd, and a physical altercation ensued. Byrd repeatedly hit the man in the head and attempted to place him in a headlock. The officer then deployed his taser on Byrd. A Winona Lake Police officer arrived and assisted with taking Byrd into custody. The man involved in the altercation had a bloody nose, and contusions to the left side of his forehead and left cheekbone. He refused medical treatment at the scene.

Byrd said he was arguing with a female relative and told her to shut up when the man balled up his fist and told Byrd not to speak to the woman that way. As the argument escalated, Byrd picked up a knife and ordered the man to leave the home while threatening him.

The man told officers his children were at the home during the altercation. He also expressed concern that Byrd would attack or injure other individuals in the home if he left.

Byrd was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Dec. 26, with a $10,250 surety and cash bond.