A 43-year-old Titusville man is locked up in Venango County Prison after Pennsylvania State Police say he threatened to assault and shoot his father, then threatened to burn down a neighboring house, during a domestic blowup in Plum Township earlier this month. Shawn Allen Blake was arraigned on four counts of misdemeanor terroristic threats and four counts of misdemeanor harassment following the November 2 incident at a Meadville Road residence.
Troopers from the Franklin barracks responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at the home, according to exploreVenango. State police said Blake threatened to assault and shoot his father and threatened to burn down a neighboring residence. A woman at the home told troopers that Blake had threatened the previous day, on November 1, to beat up his father.
A Three-Week Stay Turns Hostile
Blake's father told investigators his son had been living at the home for three-and-a-half weeks, per the affidavit cited in the station's report. The two men reportedly argued after the father spoke with Blake about missing work and about moving out. During that argument, Blake allegedly threatened to assault his father and asked where his father kept his gun; his father said the firearm was locked up.
The confrontation escalated further, the report notes, when Blake allegedly referenced a prior incident, asking, “Remember what happened last time you kicked me out?” His father had kicked him out once before, in December 2025. At that time, according to the same account, a relative warned the father that Blake was traveling to the home with a gun to shoot him, and Blake fled into the woods when troopers arrived.
Threat to Burn Neighboring House
During the more recent argument, Blake allegedly said he would repeat the same actions if kicked out again. He also allegedly threatened to burn down a neighboring Meadville Road house owned by his father — a property Blake previously lost in a tax sale and that his father planned to rent out, the same account states.
Blake's father told investigators he now sleeps with his bedroom door locked and fears for his life, calling his son a “walking time bomb.” Magisterial District Judge Andrew F. Fish arraigned Blake on November 2 and set bail at $15,000. Blake was unable to post bail and remains lodged at Venango County Prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 2 at 8:30 a.m. in Venango County Central Court.
How Pennsylvania Defines Terroristic Threats
How Pennsylvania Defines Terroristic Threats Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2706, Pennsylvania law defines a terroristic threat to include communicating an intent to commit a crime of violence with intent to terrorize another person. The statute also covers threats to cause an evacuation or serious public inconvenience, or to cause terror or serious public inconvenience with reckless disregard of the risk. The statute generally grades the offense as a first-degree misdemeanor, though it rises to a third-degree felony if the threat causes occupants to be diverted from their normal or customary activities. The section was amended on October 22 to adjust its restitution and definitions subsections and add a sentencing enhancement for threats directed at schools and institutions of higher education.
Other recent Venango County cases have involved similar allegations. In Scrubgrass Township, 31-year-old Robert Earl Lockskin was accused of threatening to shoot a man in the face at a home on Indian Rocks Road; troopers had responded to that address around 1:02 p.m. on July 27 for a report of threats, and his case was held for court after a September 23 preliminary hearing before being transferred to the Venango County Court of Common Pleas, exploreVenango reported. Lockskin posted $25,000 bail on July 29 through a professional bondsman and remained free pending trial.
In a separate case, 30-year-old Sean Michael Bickel faced felony burglary and aggravated-assault charges along with misdemeanor terroristic-threats and reckless-endangerment counts after a complaint alleged he threatened to “gut him and kill him” during an attempted-stabbing incident at a Venango Street home. Bickel's charges were held for court after a September 9 hearing in Venango County Central Court, and he remained incarcerated in Venango County Prison on $75,000 bail, according to court documents reviewed by the outlet.
