Anne Arundel County police used tear gas early Thursday to force a man out of the Hanover home of his estranged wife, police said.
Mark Edward McMillan had barricaded himself inside the house in the 7100 block of Ohio Ave. and had threatened to burn it down, police said.
Howard County police told Anne Arundel County police about 1 a.m. Thursday that a man suspected in a home invasion in Elkridge might be on his way to the home of his estranged wife and might be armed.
When officers checked on her, the 51-year-old woman was fine and McMillan was nowhere in sight, according to police spokesman Justin Mulcahy.
But the woman called police at 3:11 a.m. and told them McMillan was trying to force his way in, and police went to the house, Mulcahy said.
"She was able to get out right away, and she told police, 'He's got a baseball bat,' " Mulcahy said. She also told officers that he threatened to burn down the home and that a 48-year-old woman was inside asleep, Mulcahy said.
Special operations officers got the second woman out unharmed about 7 a.m., he said, but the man had barricaded himself inside. When he did not respond to their demands that he leave the house, the officers used tear gas to force him out, Mulcahy said.
Anne Arundel County police charged McMillan, 51, of no current address, with burglary, assault, false imprisonment, threatening arson and related charges. He was ordered held without bail, court records show.
Howard County police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said her agency issued a warrant for him as well, stemming from the earlier home invasion in the 8000 block of Joetta Drive in Elkridge.
Llewellyn said McMillan and the people in that home knew each other and had an argument, and the residents said he threatened them with a gun and smashed various items in the house with a baseball bat. One person suffered minor injuries, she said.
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