OIL CITY, Pa. — An Oil City man was charged with terroristic threats and related offenses after he brandished a BB gun and threatened a man.

According to court documents, the Oil City Police Department filed criminal charges against 41-year-old Troy Edward Neely, of Oil City.

According to a criminal complaint, around 12:11 a.m. on Saturday, July 8, Oil City Police Officers were dispatched to Cornplanter Avenue for a complaint of “a man threatening people with a gun.”

When police arrived, a female witness pointed down Bissell Alley toward Cooper Avenue and said Troy Neely was located near a new truck. Officers began to search the area for him. He was described as a shirtless, white male in shorts, the complaint states.

Patrolman Drake saw that a lock had been removed from a shed, and as he approached, he could hear a man’s voice inside. Officers were then contacted by Venango County 911 and were informed they had a man on the phone they believed was Neely, the complaint indicates.

When officers confronted Neely, he looked around the corner at them and was seen talking on the phone that he held in his right hand. “In Neely’s left hand, Patrolman Drake could see what he believed to be a black, semi-automatic handgun,” according to the complaint.

After a few verbal commands, Neely dropped the weapon and was taken into custody without further incident. Officers then spoke with Neely who said the weapon wasn’t real and was just a BB gun. He stated that he was using it to try to intimidate the victim who he believed was selling narcotics to a female friend, the complaint continues.

Neely was then taken to the Oil City Police Department where he was interviewed about the incident which was recorded on audio and video. Officers then went back to the address of the original complaint and spoke with the victim and another witness to the incident, according to the complaint.

The witness said she saw Neely when she was walking to a friend’s residence and walked toward him when he pulled a gun from the back of his waistband. Neely then made the statement that he had this (refering to the weapon) to take care of business — at which point a known man walked out on the front porch of the residence, and Neely pointed the weapon at him, the complaint states.

The known man then asked the female witness if that was a gun, and when she stated “yes,” he dropped to the ground and crawled away. The witness then told Neely he shouldn’t do that, and Neely fled the area while the man called police, the complaint indicates.

Based on the investigation, Neely was arraigned at 3:00 a.m. on July 8 in front of Magisterial District Judge Andrew F. Fish on the following charges:

• Simple Assault (Attempt by Menace), Misdemeanor 2
• Harassment — Comm. Lewd, Threatening, Etc. Language, Misdemeanor 3
• Terroristic Threats W/ Int To Terrorize Another, Misdemeanor 1
• Public Drunkenness And Similar Misconduct, Summary

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 19, with Judge Fish presiding.