Brandon man arraigned in felonious assault

A 45-year-old Brandon Township man has been arraigned on charges after pointing a loaded gun at a woman and threatening to kill her, her children, her friend and her ex-husband.

Scott Matthew Cohorst was arraigned March 21 on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in front of 52-2 District Court Judge Kelley Kostin. These felony charges are punishable by up to four years in prison and/or a $2,000 fine.

According to Oakland County Sheriff’s Office police reports, the incident took place on March 12 at a home in the 3600 block of Hawthorne, although the complaint was not filed until March 15 at the Brandon substation. The complainant said she and a friend arrived at the home around 11:30 p.m. , March 12 and Cohorst was upset because she had not responded to his phone calls or text messages while she was out. The couple have lived together for 2-and-a-half years and she said he was intoxicated and began punching walls.

She tried to calm him down and diffuse the situation as she has done in the past, but he retrieved a loaded shotgun from his gun safe and pointed it at her and her friend, threatening to kill them, as well as the complainant’s children and ex-husband. The children were in their rooms and did not witness the scene.

The complainant said Cohorst is often violent when drinking. She did not call 9-1-1 for fear of making the situation worse. She said she is typically able to calm him down and this is not the first time he has pointed a gun at her, although it was the first time he has threatened to kill her or hurt her children.

She told police he remained upset and threw the gun on the floor before putting it back in the safe and going to bed. The next morning she told him to leave. Her friend collaborated the story to police. In a police interview, Cohorst admitted punching walls and picking up the gun, but denied pointing it at anyone or saying he was going to kill them.

Cohorst remains in the Oakland County Jail on a $25,000 bond.