CORNISH — A  21-year-old Cornish man who allegedly threatened his grandparents with a knife and who police said threatened to hit his grandmother in the face with a vase Sunday night is in jail this morning.

Brandon Gignac was taken into custody without incident and is held without bail at York County Jail, Sheriff Bill King said in a statement released at 8 a.m. today.

The incident prompted the man’s grandparents, with whom he lived, to flee their Limington Road home and seek help.

King said a sheriff’s deputy was flagged down by the couple, who said their grandson who lives with them, was threatening to hurt them and was damaging the house.

The couple was not injured, King said in a brief telephone interview this morning.

King said Gignac was apparently upset because his phone battery ran out of power and he misplaced his headphones. During the episode, Gignac allegedly picked up a vase and threatened to hit his grandmother in the face with it before breaking it on the dining room table.

King said that Gignac then grabbed a knife and began threatening his grandparents.

“Fearing for their safety, they gathered their family pets and fled the residence looking for assistance,” said King in a statement.

While the deputy was speaking with the couple, another family member who lives nearby called 9-1-1 to report that Gignac was at their door, trying to break into their residence — they had locked the door to keep him out, King said.

King said deputies estimated damaged to the couple’s home at about $2,000.

Gignac was charged with domestic violence terrorizing and is scheduled to make a court appearance on March 10. He said no bail was set as the alleged incident is domestic violence-related.

King said this is not the first time Gignac has caused problems — the sheriff said an incident last summer resulted in a substantial amount of household damage.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@jouirnaltribune.com.