The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office said a couple in Sevierville, TN were asleep in their upstairs bedroom early Tuesday morning when they heard a noise downstairs inside the house. They called 9-1-1 at approximately 5:50 a.m. to report an intruder had gained access to their home after kicking open the front door.

The homeowner armed himself with a handgun and told the intruder that law enforcement had been called, then warned him not to come up the stairs.

The intruder, later identified by deputies as 23-year-old Darrick C. Whaley, failed to heed the homeowner’s warning and reached the couple inside their home before officers could arrive on the scene. The homeowner told investigators Whaley pointed the weapon at couple and that’s when he drew his own gun, instructing Whaley to get down on the ground and not to move.

Deputies said when they arrived at the couple’s home on Douglas Dam Road, the homeowner still had Whaley securely held at gunpoint.

At the time of his arrest, Whaley was in possession of meth and a syringe. The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office charged Whaley with aggravated assault, especially aggravated burglary, unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, gun possession during a violent felony and narcotic possession.

Whaley is being held at the Sevier County jail.