Bail set at $250K for Toledo man accused of assaulting wife, threatening to shoot police on Monday 

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Bail is set at $250,000 for a Toledo man accused of illegally possessing eight firearms, assaulting his estranged wife and threatening to shoot officers who responded to the assault on Monday. 

Darren Lee Mosteller, 58, faces eight counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and one count each of obstructing law enforcement, resisting arrest and fourth-degree assault. 

He was arrested on Feb. 3 after the victim called 911 to report that Mosteller, who is legally prohibited from having firearms due to an active harassment protection order, had put three firearms on a TV tray to “intimidate her,” pushed and yelled at her to get out of the house, and told her “if she called the cops, he was not going down, he’s going to shoot,” according to court documents. 

The victim later told a responding officer that she and Mosteller got into an argument about him kicking her out of their shared residence in the 500 block of Pine Street after he “consumed a large amount of whiskey,” according to court documents. During the argument, Mosteller allegedly struck the victim approximately six times then went to the bedroom area of the residence and returned with three firearms, which he placed on a television tray. A photo of the firearms taken by the victim shows Mosteller sitting in a recliner with two revolvers next to him on the tray, according to court documents. 

When the victim told him she would call the police if he kept hitting her, Mosteller allegedly said “if the cops come, he’s not going to jail, and would shoot first,” according to court documents.  

The victim in this case was not the person named in the harassment protection order, but the order did require Mosteller to surrender all firearms to the sheriff’s office. 

“He had previously surrendered several firearms to the sheriff's office pursuant to this order,” according to court documents. 

Lewis County Superior Court issued the harassment protection order, which is active for a year, on Dec. 3, 2024, according to court documents.

An officer with the Toledo Police Department met the victim at a park to take her statement before responding alongside other local law enforcement to the Pine Street residence. 

Mosteller reportedly opened the door when the police officer knocked, but when the officer told him to come outside, Mosteller allegedly “stated he would not come out then slammed the door closed,” according to court documents. 

“The officers feared he may be going for the guns as he had previously threatened, and they quickly made entry to detain him,” according to court documents. 



He allegedly resisted arrest, but was successfully detained, removed from the residence and placed in a patrol vehicle. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 6:26 p.m. on Feb. 3, according to jail records.

While executing a search warrant on the residence, officers reportedly found a total of eight firearms, including three rifles, one shotgun and four handguns. Officers also found unassembled upper and lower receivers for an AR15, as well as several different types of ammunition, according to court documents. 

“He was supposed to surrender all firearms, and he did,” Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said during Mosteller’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday, where he expressed concern over the number of firearms officers found in Mosteller’s residence after he surrendered some to the sheriff’s office. 

“Having firearms is one thing, but when he says he’s going to start shooting first when law enforcement arrives, he is clearly a threat,” Halstead said Tuesday, asking the court to set Mosteller’s bail at $1 million and to issue a no-contact order protecting the victim. 

The victim was present in court for Mosteller’s preliminary hearing on Tuesday, where she testified in favor of the prosecution’s recommended bail amount and the order prohibiting Mosteller from contacting her. 

“I’m afraid he’s going to kill me or kill my brother or kill my sister-in-law,” the victim said Tuesday. 

Defense attorney Rachael Tiller said that $1 million bail is outside of Mosteller’s scope and the norm for these types of cases, and asked for a significantly lower bail amount due to his lack of criminal history and conditions of release provisions, including the no-contact order and a provision prohibiting Mosteller from drinking alcohol, that would minimize community safety risk. 

“The court does share the state’s concerns about public safety concerns if you are to be released without some bail,” Judge Paul Strophy said to Mosteller on Tuesday, adding that the court does not set bail at $1 million except for significant violent offenses. He agreed with Tiller that provisions to Mosteller’s conditions of release requiring him to wear a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM) device and to have no contact with the victim will minimize the community safety risk. 

The new case requires Mosteller to again surrender all firearms to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. 

Arraignment was scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6.