BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A Gravette landlord has been arrested after allegedly punching and pointing a gun at his tenants.

Maurice Sean Breen, 56, was arrested on Nov. 5 and is accused of forcible possession of land, criminal trespass, aggravated residential burglary, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of third-degree battery.

An affidavit says that a deputy with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to Rockey Dell Hollow Road in Gravette on Nov. 5 in response to a physical disturbance.

The incident was reported by Jessica and Chris Grant, the victims. The Grants claimed that Breen had assaulted them and pointed a gun at them.

When the deputy arrived on the scene, Jessica was interviewed. She claimed that days prior, she and Chris told Breen that they would be moving out. The Grants had been renting a travel trailer parked in front of Breen’s residence since January 2022. He was charging them about $150 a week.

She said that this upset Breen, and he shut off the water and power to the trailer, then locked the trailer with the couple’s dogs still inside.

Unable to get inside, Jessica began to argue with Breen, who told her that she needed to pay $185 for an additional week of rent if she wanted back in the trailer. She sent Breen a payment of $170 and he unlocked the trailer, which they entered before continuing to argue.

Jessica told the deputy that during the argument, Breen became physical and punched her in the face with a closed fist. Chris then tried to intervene, and the two became physical.

Jessica told the deputy that Breen was “throwing Chris around the trailer like a ragdoll.”

During the altercation, a semi-automatic handgun fell out of Breen’s pants. He retrieved the gun and pointed it directly at the couple and told them to leave the trailer. The pair left and called 911.

Deputies made contact with Breen and detained him. The affidavit says that he began complaining of pain in his back and ribs, so he was medically evaluated on the scene.

Breen agreed to speak to police and admitted to locking the trailer and denying them access, as well as threatening to shut off power and water. He told police that he was under the impression that they couple were trespassing on his property as they had not paid for the upcoming weeks rent.

Breen told police that Jessica’s son, Thaden, and his wife, were on the scene and involved in the argument. He claims that after he unlocked the trailer, Chris, Jessica, Thaden and Thaden’s wife all struck him. The affidavit says that he was unable to elaborate on how he was struck.

Breen admitted to picking up the gun but claimed that he did not point it directly at the couple, just in their general direction.

After an investigation, deputies determined that Breen was at fault.

“At the conclusion of the investigation, we determined that Breen was the primary aggressor,” the affidavit said. “He displayed a firearm in such a manner that created a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person.”

The affidavit goes on to accuse Breen of unlawfully entering the residence and taking their residence by force.

“He took possession of Chris and Jessica’s real estate by force when he locked them out of the trailer and did so while armed with a deadly weapon,” the affidavit said.

Breen is being held on a $30,000 bond. He has a court hearing scheduled for Dec. 11 in Benton County.