According to Girardville Police, on Monday, May 25th, 2020 around 11:45am, Girardville police were dispatched to 132 East main Street in the borough for a burglary in progress.
Officers were able to arrive on scene within a minute of the dispatch.
As officers arrived on scene, they could hear a man yelling from an apartment saying "Come in Coppers". The police ordered the man several times to open the door to the apartment, but after he refused and kept telling the police to enter, officers made the decision to break down the door.
Once police made entry, the man closed himself behind a bedroom door. Officers gained entry to the bedroom where the man wielded a butcher knife at officers.
Officers drew their firearms and gave several orders for the man drop the knife.
The man, identified as Robert Machese, 61, of Girardville, finally dropped the knife and officers were able to take him into custody.
Machese was transported to an area hospital for a mental health evaluation with Girardville Police following the EMS unit.
Police say that mental health and abuse of illegal controlled substances may have been a contributing factor to the incident.
Girardville Police were assisted at the scene by Ashland Police as well as Ashland EMS and the Girardville Fire Police.