Man armed with knife tries to break into apartment, threatens to stab occupants

A Mountain Home man armed with a knife who tried to break into an apartment and threatened to stab the occupants has been arrested. The incident Saturday morning led to 68-year-old James M. Hilinski facing two charges, including one felony.
The Mountain Home Police affidavit indicates an officer was dispatched to the Meadow Springs apartments with the occupants inside and the offender armed with a knife. According to the victims, Hilinski was standing outside their door, talking to himself and people who weren’t there. Hilinski then began trying to pry their door open with the knife and said “I’ll break this lock and stab the first people who are at the door.”

The victims said their neighbor tried to intervene, but Hilinski asked him if he wanted the knife used on him.

When the officer arrived, Hilinski had the knife in a sheath on his belt.   The officer had Hilinski put his hands on the wall, the knife was removed, but as the officer was checking for other weapons, Hilinski began pulling away from the officer and reaching for his waistline. Not knowing if Hilinski had other weapons or not, the officer took control of the suspect’s hands and took him to the ground, where he impacted a concrete area next to the grass targeted area. Handcuffs were put on Hilinski and a bandage was applied before an ambulance arrived and took Hilinski to Baxter Health for treatment.

Hilinski is facing a felony charge of criminal attempt to commit breaking or entering and a misdemeanor charge of refusal to submit to arrest. His bond is set at $5,000.

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