Report: Clyde man shoots at restaurant

BELLEVUE — Police arrested a Clyde man on earlier this week after he allegedly shot at a pizza restaurant and threatened employees' lives.Nicholas T. Hoffman, 31, of the 200 block of S. Main St., was charged with aggravated menacing, vandalism, improperly handling a firearm in a car, carrying a concealed weapon, tampering with evidence and discharging a firearm in the city.Just after 3:30 p.m., Bellevue police responded to a gas station in the 200 block of W. Main St. after a caller reported a suspicious man, without shoes or a coat, asked him for a ride to Clyde. Police later identified the man as Hoffman.Clyde police earlier that day asked the community to be on the look out for Hoffman after he threatened to shoot himself and a co-worker. He allegedly had previously fired a gun twice at a pizza restaurant in the 400 block of E. McPherson Highway, according to a Bellevue police report.At the time, officers believed Hoffman still had a gun on him, so one officer set up with a rifle while the other approached him in the parking lot, the report stated.Hoffman allegedly walked toward a police cruiser, and an officer opened their car door and used it for cover as they drew their weapon. Police told Hoffman to show his hands and get down on the ground.Hoffman showed the officer his hands, but he refused to get on the ground and continued walking toward police, according to the report. Hoffman reportedly yelled at the officer to shoot him.As Hoffman got closer to the car, the officer moved to the rear of their cruiser. The other officer arrived and pointed their rifle at Hoffman.The officers continued to tell him to get on the ground, but he ignored them, according to the report. An officer holstered their pistol and pulled out their taser and moved toward Hoffman.An officer grabbed a hold of his arm and used a leg swipe to force him to the ground. They handcuffed him as he continued to ask them to shoot him.Police did not find any weapons on Hoffman, the report stated.One officer took him to Bellevue Hospital and contacted Clyde police while the other officer went looking for Hoffman's car.The officer found his car on the 400 block of Derby Lane. The door was open and the engine was still running. Spent shell casings and a handgun magazine were on the ground near it, according to the report.Officers found a handgun in the snow on the other side of a fence after Hoffman told them he threw it there, the report stated.Clyde police took custody of Hoffman and brought him to the Sandusky County jail after the hospital cleared him. He's being held without bond and the case is still under investigation by the police.More Bellevue police articlesReach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegister