The man who allegedly held law enforcement officials at bay with an ax at Honda has been indicted.
Max W. Arnold, 30, of 628 Kenny Lane, Marysville, has been indicted on one count each of inducing panic and obstructing official business, stemming from an Aug. 31 incident.
That day, Union County Sheriffs Deputies went to Honda’s Marysville Auto Plant to serve a felony indictment warrant issued earlier that day on Arnold. The indictment included nine counts of rape, three counts of sexual battery and one count each of felonious assault, possessing criminal tools, soliciting and intimidation.
When deputies entered the auto plant at about 2:45 p.m., Arnold ran, allegedly grabbed a fire ax and then threatened the deputies.
Arnold climbed onto a mezzanine on the top of a production press inside the plant. He refused to drop the ax and threatened to hurt himself.
Additional deputies, security from the Honda plant, crisis negotiators, the Allen Township Fire Department and a special response team from the Marysville Division of Police responded to the plant.
Production at the plant was stopped and Honda associates were moved to a central internal location for their safety.
First responders tried for several hours to negotiate with the man. Officials said at about 7 p.m., negotiations began to “deteriorate.”
At that time, a decision was made to have one group of special response team members distract Arnold while another team positioned themselves to subdue him. Once officers were on the mezzanine with him, Arnold surrendered without further incident.
Arnold was evaluated by EMS on the scene and taken to the Tri-County Regional Jail.
According to court documents, because the production line was stopped, Arnold’s actions caused more than $150,000 in “economic harm.”
If convicted on the charges from the Honda plant, Arnold could face as many as six years in prison.
He could spend the remainder of his life in prison if convicted on the rape and related charges.
Investigators said Arnold and the victim in the rape allegation had been acquaintances for several years and had communicated on social media. In April, the pair met in Columbus. Investigators said Arnold and the victim had been drinking and came back to the man’s home in Marysville, where they continued to drink.
“At some point the victim became so impaired that she passed out,” said Deputy Chief Tony Brooks of the Marysville Police Department.
According to court documents, over a period of time, Arnold allegedly raped the woman several times, inserting a variety of items inside her. Officials classified it as potentially “a violent encounter.”
When the victim woke in the early morning hours the next day, she contacted police, who went to the man’s home and met with both Arnold and the victim.
“She claimed it was rape. He claimed it was consensual,” Brooks said.
The victim was taken to Dublin Methodist Hospital.
Det. Katie Archer of the Marysville Division of Police said as police investigated the allegation, they learned of another incident earlier on April 27.
“We learned that he had requested sexual favors from a woman in exchange for money,” Archer said.
She said the woman did not perform the favors and she was not the eventual rape victim.