A 30-year-old Scranton man went after another man with a knife in Dickson City, threatening to kill him, according to a criminal complaint.

When Dickson City officers arrived, Robert Kozarek barricaded himself in the closet of an upstairs bedroom, police said.

After he was taken into custody, he told officers he had returned to the residence to retrieve his wallet. But others told a different story.

According to the complaint, borough police responded to 955 Carmalt St. at about 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 24 for the report of a man armed with a knife.

The caller, later identified as Charley Brown, reported that Kozarek, her boyfriend, had forced his way into her residence. As Brown was on the phone with dispatchers, she screamed, “stop hitting him,” before the call was disconnected.

When officers arrived at the scene, they could hear screaming coming from inside the residence.

Officers entered and found Kozarek at the top of the steps on the second floor. When Kozarek saw police, he ran into one of the bedrooms.

Police ordered him to come downstairs with his hands up, but Kozarek didn’t. Brown and her son, Eric Schaffer, told police Kozarek had barricaded himself in a bedroom closet.

Kozarek eventually left the closet and, although he initially resisted, was soon taken into custody.

He told officers he and Brown had a fight earlier in the day. When he returned he found other men at the house.

He admitted assaulting Schaffer with a broomstick but said he hadn’t had a knife.

Brown and other witnesses told officers Kozarek entered the home and came at them with a knife.

Brown said Kozarek approached Schaffer with the knife and threatened to kill him before punching him in the face several times.

Kozarek then smashed Brown’s phone before going downstairs and “tearing up the house.” He returned to the second floor with the broomstick and began hitting Schaffer.

Officers noted Schaffer had swelling around his eye.

Kozarek, of 609 E. Market St., is charged with felony trespass, making terroristic threats, criminal mischief, simple assault and harassment.

He remains at Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $20,000 bail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on March 10 before District Judge George Seig.