Published: October 21, 2009 12:00 am      

Area man charged in hostage incident

DELHI "" A Hancock man pleaded innocent Monday to charges related to holding a man hostage with a knife and then threatening a man who attempted to intervene and the state police who arrived.

Richard M. Berry, 28, was arraigned in Delaware County Court on charges of menacing a police officer, first-degree menacing, unlawful imprisonment and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup said Berry went looking for someone at the Capra Inn on Main Street in Hancock at 4:30 a.m. Sept. 11.

Herb Buckley, who works at the state police crime lab in Port Crane, was on his way to work and stopped for a cup of coffee at the convenience store across the street from the motel.

Northrup said Buckley allegedly saw Berry shove a man through a door of the motel and went across the street to see what was going on. Berry allegedly had the man up against a wall with the knife to his throat, but when Buckley approached, he pointed the knife at Buckley's stomach.

Northrup said when the troopers arrived, Berry also allegedly threatened them with the knife.

Northrup said Berry had been charged previously in South Carolina with assaulting a police officer with a firearm but the charge was pled down to assaulting a government official.

Delaware County Judge Carl Becker set Berry's bail at $20,000 cash or $40,000 bond and scheduled his trial for the Jan. 4 term.

Nate Garland, Berry's attorney, said his client is serving a nine-month sentence in the Delaware County jail for a violation of probation.

In another case, Seth Hodge, 20, of Downsville, appeared in court to be released on his own recognizance on a first-degree criminal contempt charge, but Hodge is being held in jail on charges from the Colchester Town Court, so he was not released.

Northrup said he will be unable to have a grand jury hearing on Hodge's charge before the 45-day time limit expires.

Northrup said the charges against Hodge stem from an Aug. 26 incident.

As Hodge was entering the courtroom, he began to state that he was not guilty, and that he was being held in bad conditions. His attorney, Gregory Kottmeier of Delhi, repeatedly told him not to talk, but Hodge was still declaring his innocence as he left the courtroom.