A man taken into custody after an hours-long standoff in Montezuma Friday had written a social media post Thursday threatening a Wayne County judge.
A large number of law enforcement officials were on the scene of the standoff at 7391 Fuller Road in Montezuma that began just before 1 p.m. Friday. Police said that the resident, Joseph Wilmarth, was barricaded within the home and was armed with a long gun.
New York State Police crisis negotiators were in communication with Wilmarth for hours, and he left the house at about 6:15 p.m. State Police Major Eric Laughton said that Wilmarth was cooperative after leaving the house, and was handcuffed and taken into custody.
Fuller Road was closed to traffic from Carner Road to Turnpike Road, and state police vehicles occasionally went in and out of the area. The road was reopened at about 6:45 p.m.
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On Thursday, Wilmarth wrote a comment on a Facebook page regarding family issues, saying that Wayne County had "committed an act of war against me" regarding a child custody dispute.
"I am an American citizen and know my rights," Wilmarth wrote, saying that "when a country declares an act of war on the citizen that citizen is entitled to the Geneva Convention right that means combat immunity."
He concluded the posting by declaring, "I'm well within my rights to put a bullet in the judges (sic) head."
Laughton said that a 911 call regarding the Facebook post brought police to Wilmarth's home on Friday. He said that the Wayne County Sheriff's Office had a warrant for Wilmarth's arrest.
Laughton praised the work of the law enforcement officers involved.
"It was a textbook response handled well, and the biggest thing for me is that everybody was safe,"​ Laughton said.