An Atlantic City man who caused the closing of the Venice Park bridge during an hours-long standoff with police was released from jail Friday.
The mother of Dean's 6-year-old child called police after she claimed he brandished a gun at her when she came to retrieve the boy.
"He did not point a weapon at her. It was a brandy bottle," defense attorney Christina Naughton told the judge at a detention hearing. "It's a glass bottle shaped to look like a firearm. ... Nobody's going to mistake it for a firearm."
"But you haven't seen it," Judge Patricia Wild replied.
"No, but when he described it, I have seen it in stores," Naughton said.
In a press release following Dean's arrest, police said a replica firearm was retrieved, but did not offer a description.
"I think the focus is what was her perception of what was going on," the judge said.
The incident began with a missed child custody exchange at the Atlantic City Police Department that was supposed to happen at 2 p.m., Naughton told the judge.
When the mother did not show up, Dean and their son returned to his home.
Later that day, the woman showed up at the house for the exchange, despite Dean having a restraining order against her, Naughton said.
Police were then called and a standoff resulted.
The judge said, regardless of what led up to the incident, Dean created the problem when he did not just open the door for police and explain the issue.
"Mr. Dean created a situation after this custody issue by barricading himself in the house in a situation where he would not respond to the police and that they had to go and call the SWAT team out," Wild said. "And he had a 6-year-old child in the house.
"Whether it's a whiskey bottle or a it's a brandy bottle or it's an Avon perfume bottle that looks like a gun, he's the architect of this problem on this particular day," she added.
Dean has no criminal history, which led to Wild releasing him pending the outcome of the case.
He was barred from contact with his son or the mother as a condition of his release.
"I know this is probably a heartbreaker for your client that he can't see his child, especially this time of year," the judge told Naughton.
Dean, who drives a school bus, asked about his son riding on his bus. The judge allowed for that limited contact.
It was not clear if Dean filed a violation of the restraining order against the woman.
