Jun 26, 2018 2 min read

A Cecil Township man is facing several charges after he allegedly fired a gun at another man Sunday night.

Cecil Township police responded to 14 Ridgewood Drive about 10:45 p.m. for a report of a gunshot. Police said Charles Edward Long, 35, of 11 S. Depaoli Road, allegedly fired a gun at Benjamin Vanderlee, a Ridgewood Drive resident.

According to court documents, Vanderlee and Nichole McAnany, who live at the same address, had been arguing when McAnany asked Long to come over and help her. Long told police when he arrived, Vanderlee had a baseball bat and started walking toward him.

When Vanderlee was about 15 feet away, Long fired a gun into the ground about five feet away from Vanderlee, according to the criminal complaint. Police said Long then pointed the gun at Vanderlee’s knees and threatened him, saying, “I’ll take your knee out,” the complaint said. He then allegedly chased Vanderlee up the street and yelled, “I’ll kill you.”

At first, police said McAnany and Long denied that Long had been in possession of a gun. After getting statements from Vanderlee and a witness, police asked Long to do a gunshot residue test, but he reportedly refused. Police said Long later admitted to having a gun and firing it into the ground, the complaint said.

When Vanderlee went inside to call police, Long allegedly went home and put the gun in a shed before returning to the scene. Long reportedly is prohibited from owning a gun because he has prior felony convictions. Police said they recovered the gun in the shed.

Long was charged with illegal possession of a firearm, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and terroristic threats. He was arraigned by District Judge Curtis Thompson Monday morning and released on a $20,000 surety bond.