A 35-year-old Hampstead man has been held on $10,000 bond since his arrest early Sunday for allegedly assaulting his wife.

Smith H. Dean 3rd is charged with assault on his wife, Tracey Dean; assault and battery; and possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony.

Police say that Mr. Dean struck his wife, pointed a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol at her and then fled with their 2-year-old son.

Mrs. Dean called state police about 2 a.m. Sunday and said her husband had come home intoxi

cated, woke her and struck her before pointing the gun at her, state police reported. She fled the house to call police from a neighbor's, but left behind her son, who was asleep.

When officers arrived, they attempted to contact Mr. Dean by telephone and by shouting at him from outside the house. Receiving no reply and fearing for the child's safety, they forced a door open and searched the house. They found no one inside, but did find a gun.

After police broadcast a description of the man's car, a trooper saw it on Route 30 near Hampstead and stopped it, placing Mr. Dean under arrest.

Police said the child was in the car unharmed. Troopers returned the child to his mother.