'It's either me or him': Austell man describes terrifying home invasion by man wielding a sword

AUSTELL, Ga. - A Douglasville man is accused of breaking into a home in Cobb County and threatening the family inside with a sword.

Homeowner Jeffrey Pledger told FOX 5 that he originally thought someone was pulling a prank, but by the time the terrifying encounter ended no one was laughing.

On April 15, Pledger pulled up to his home on Perry Point in Austell and saw a stranger in an SUV.

"I've never seen him a day in my life," Pledger said.

At first, he thought he was with the guy who cuts his lawn.

"He said, ‘no that’s not my vehicle,'" Pledger said.

So the Austell homeowner knocked on the guy's window.

"I asked him ‘Can I help you?’ He asked me ‘Can I help you?’ Pledger said. "I said ‘You’re in my driveway. This is my home.’"

That's when things went from a bit odd to frightening.

"He pulled out a sword," Pledger said. "He said ‘I’m ready to die, are you?' So I said, ‘whoa!’"

Police documents say the man, who officials identified as Brian Wiley, forced his way into Pledger's home.

In surveillance footage, Pledger walks into his home as Brian Wiley follows

"He just had a solid black look in his eyes," he said. "He said ‘I’m ready to die' - that's what he kept saying."

Then Wiley made himself at home, sitting on the couch in the family's living room.

Pledger hurried his family outside and grabbed his gun, but the man still would not leave.

"It's either me or him," he said. "He said ‘Look in my eyes. I’ll take your soul.'"

The whole ordeal lasted about 15 excruciating minutes before police arrived and arrested Wiley.

Officers searched Wiley's SUV and said he was heavily armed. According to the police report, they confiscated a rifle, shotgun, two handguns, a knife, a sword, and lots of ammunition.

"It's still in the back of my head," Pledger said. "It still sticks with me."

Wiley is charged with criminal trespassing and making terroristic threats.