Arizona man accused of making death threats to neighbor, barricading self in home

PHOENIX — A 73-year-old Arizona man was arrested after allegedly making death threats and barricading himself inside his home Saturday night, authorities say.

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office responded to several calls regarding threats in Diamond Valley from Virgil Neigel, the identified suspect.

Investigation revealed Neigel had made death threats to a neighbor who lives in an elder care home next door to the suspect. Neigel was discovered to be in his own residence and was unresponsive to YCSO’s verbal order to come outside.

While attempting to apprehend Neigel, authorities received a phone call from a person who had recently spoke with the suspect. They reported that Neigel said he would not go back to jail and would show violence if provoked by law enforcement. Deputies then discovered his home was barricaded.

Following hours of persuading the suspect to surrender, YCSO obtained a search warrant and called in a SWAT team to intervene. A SWAT team made entry and Prescott Valley Police Department also brought a K9 which located Neigel hiding a room behind a wall. The suspect was highly intoxicated and a hatchet was found laying on the floor next to his hand.

Authorities arrested Neigel and took him to a nearby hospital for medical supervision, which addressed his intoxication and injuries sustained during the arrest.

He will be booked and charged with one count of resisting arrest, one count of disorderly conduct and one count of threatening or intimidating.

The suspects’ criminal record showed he is currently on felony probation for a November 2022 case of aggravated assault for pointing a gun at a female neighbor and pulling the trigger. In the 1980s, Neigel was convicted of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer.

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