Chenango County Man Accused of Threatening People with Hammer

A Chenango County man is accused of breaking into a home in the Town of Oxford and threatening two people with a hammer and a gun in a domestic incident that escalated shortly at 12:02 a.m. April 6.

21 year old Joshua Backus of Greene is charged with felony counts of burglary, criminal possession of a stimulant, and criminal possession of a controlled substance along with misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance, four counts of menacing, harassment and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Troopers say they were called about the domestic dispute and found Backus had apparently pushed the two victims and threatened them with a hammer. He’s also accused of pointing a gun at them and attempting to hit them with his vehicle as he left the scene before patrols arrived.  Investigators say they later found Backus had entered the home without permission with the intent of committing a crime.

While they were investigating the incident, Troopers saw Backus drive past the home and they stopped him on Town Barn Road in the Town of Oxford where they found a gun, hammer, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and pills in the vehicle.

Backus was sent to the Chenango County Jail on $40,000 bail.