By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
A Rowan County man is charged with threatening deputies as he held his two children hostage inside their Sherills Ford Road home Thursday evening.
Rowan County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to 4820 Sherills Ford Road about 5:25 p.m. for a reported domestic dispute. Once there, deputies said, 35-year-old Nicky Jon Settlemeyer told an officer on the scene to leave the property “or he better be wearing a vest.”
At that point, Deputy M.A. Dixon called for backup and took cover behind his patrol car in front of the mobile home.
Settlemeyer’s wife had already left the residence and was waiting outside when officers arrived. According to the report, Mary Denise Settlemeyer “had blood on her chin and shirt.” She later told authorities that Nicky Settlemeyer assaulted her and hit her in the face with a firearm.
As Dixon communicated with the county communications center, Nicky Settlemeyer opened the door again and told Dixon that “he was going to have to kill him in front of his kids,” the report said. The Settlemeyers’ 12-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy were still inside the house at the time.
The Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team arrived, commanded by Lt. Neil Goodman, and formed a perimeter around the home.
Mary Settlemeyer told authorities that Nicky Settlemeyer had several weapons, including shotguns that he kept, despite being a convicted felon, because he liked to hunt. While she was being threatened by Nicky Settlemeyer, she told authorities, he “racked the shotgun several times in front of her” in a threatening way.
She also told deputies that Nicky Settlemeyer had taken prescription medication earlier that day. It was unclear if the medication had been prescribed to him.
Nicky Settlemeyer’s mother arrived on the scene shortly after, the report said, and about that same time Nicky Settlemeyer released the two children from the trailer. In the arrest report, Nicky Settlemeyer was charged with “terrorizing the children.”
It took the Special Response Team less than 30 minutes to negotiate Nicky Settlemeyer to a peaceful surrender, the report said.
Deputies who searched the home found two loaded single-shot shotguns under a child’s pool in the back yard. They also found marijuana inside the home.
Nicky Settlemeyer was charged with three counts of felony kidnapping, two counts of general child abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of marijuana.
He had his first court appearance Friday and was placed under a $200,000 bond.
According to the N.C. Department of Corrections, Nicky Settlemeyer, who at some point went by the nickname “Slobber Box,” was convicted in Rowan County in 1994 of felony larceny.