When police arrived, Griffin, 45, of South 9th Street, was in the neighbor’s front yard and was ordered to put the shogun down and step away. Griffin complied with all police orders. When being escorted to a police cruiser, Griffin “had an exited utterance” and said, “My heart is leaking, it was life or death, I needed to get in there,” according to records.

Griffin told police he would have used the sledgehammer to break into the home if no one answered.

The victim told the Journal-News Griffin allegedly broke into his neighbor’s home before approaching his home. A police report has not yet been filed.

Griffin was booked into the Butler County Jail Tuesday and appeared in Hamilton Municipal Court on Wednesday morning for a preliminary hearing. He was appointed an attorney and ordered to have no contact with the three neighbors and have no contact with weapons. A $250,000 cash bond was also ordered, according to court records.

All three neighbors said they’ve had previous problems with Griffin, police said.

The female victim was treated and released on Tuesday from Fort Hamilton Hospital, according to her boyfriend.