The Port Richey man told deputies he was joking when he told the victim, "I'm going to cut your head off."

PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Pasco deputies say a Port Richey man was arrested after he threatened a 10-year-old child with a sword.

Deputies say Kenneth Lamella, 45, admitted to grabbing the sword and removing it from a sheath. Lamella told deputies he was standing about three feet from the child when he told the victim, “I’m going to cut your head off.”

Lamella told deputies he was joking when he said this.

Lamella said the victim looked scared when he made the comment and was crying. The child’s mother, who arrived at the home after the incident, said she found the victim crying in a bedroom.

The mother also told deputies Lamella apologized to her and the child.

Lamella was charged with domestic aggravated assault and child abuse.

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