An Alpharetta man who was arrested in August 2018 for allegedly firing a handgun through the walls of a south Forsyth townhome during a standoff with Forsyth County authorities has now been indicted by the Forsyth County Superior Court.

On Monday, a Forsyth County grand jury chose to indict Blake Dru Prizio, 43, for two counts each of aggravated assault and criminal damage to property.

Indictment documents allege that Prizio knowingly assaulted two deputies with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office by firing into and through the walls of a residence on Preswyck Court in south Forsyth on Aug. 14, 2018.

At the time of Prizio’s arrest, authorities told the Forsyth County News that the man had called 911 and told them that he was being held captive in the residence, beginning an hours-long standoff with Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office SWAT, hostage negotiation teams and other specialized units. 

According to sheriff’s office spokesman Cpl. Doug Rainwater, units responded to the residence within minutes after the 911 call was placed, and when deputies arrived on scene they heard gunshots coming from inside the residence.

Rainwater said that throughout the six-hour ordeal, deputies made numerous attempts to identify who was in the residence and to get them to surrender peacefully. Deputies put three cellphones through the front door and deployed tear gas and a camera-mounted robot, but eventually SWAT teams were forced to enter the residence to resolve the situation.

“We literally did everything we could to try to get him to out, and he just refused,” Rainwater said at the time. “At some point, you have to say, that’s it.”

Prizio was taken into custody and briefly held in the Forsyth County Jail before being released. 

This case will be presided over by Superior Court Judge David L. Dickinson and prosecuted by assistant district attorney Michael Mahoney.   

 Other Forsyth County Superior Court indictments for September include:

• Mark Keith Scott, 47, has been charged with burglary in the second degree. Indictment documents allege that Scott unlawfully entered Movies 400 on Atlanta Road in Cumming on Aug. 6, 2019. 
• Jonathan Daniel Castillo, Audrey Taylor Ellison and William T. Williams, have been charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine and marijuana with the intent to distribute, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of drug-related objects and theft by receiving stolen property. Additionally, Williams has been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Indictment documents allege that on May 8, Castillo, Ellison and Williams were found in possession of methamphetamine, marijuana, drug packaging materials and a stolen handgun. 
• James Marion Harvey III and De’Ontae Martez White have been charged with smash-and-grab burglary, burglary in the second degree and theft by taking. Indictment documents allege that on Aug. 5, 2018, Harvey and White unlawfully entered the Tin Drum Asian Kitchen on Peachtree Parkway and stole a safe, United States currency and iPad from the business. 
• Marcos Vargas-Hernandez has been charged with two counts each of aggravated sodomy and rape, and one count of child molestation. Indictment documents allege that between 2011 and 2019, Vargas-Hernandez committed multiple “immoral and indecent” acts against a child. 
• Jeremy Mathew Nation has been charged with eight counts of child molestation and one count each of enticing a child for indecent purposes and computer pornography. Indictment documents allege that between 2014 and 2016, Nation committed “immoral and indecent” acts against three children under the age of 16.