Police said Robert Ghelarducci arrived at the Bridgeville home of his estranged former girlfriend Amanda Barker armed with a pellet gun and duct tape a little after midnight yesterday, demanding to see his 2-year-old son and to retrieve his mother's ashes.

He left six hours later in police custody, after holding Ms. Barker and their son hostage, releasing them, and then attempting to burn down the house by setting a second-story bedroom on fire.

Mr. Ghelarducci, 25, of Carnegie, now faces charges of assault, unlawful restraint, burglary, child endangerment and arson.

Police detained him after he jumped out a second-story window to escape the burning building at around 6:10 yesterday morning. He was then taken to a hospital for unspecified injuries, where he remained last night.

In an affidavit, police said Mr. Ghelarducci walked into the unlocked home, located at 740 Maple St., and barged into Ms. Barker's second-story room, where she was sleeping with her son. He told her, "I came to see my son," and attempted to gag her with duct tape. She escaped his grip, at which point he pointed a gun at her and their son.

Ms. Barker's father, Matthew Provan, who also lives in the home, went to her room when he heard her yelling. Mr. Ghelarducci pointed the gun at Mr. Provan and threatened to kill him and his daughter and then asked Mr. Provan to retrieve his mother's ashes.

Mr. Provan went downstairs to call police and retrieve the ashes and gave them to Mr. Ghelarducci. Mr. Provan then fled with his wife. In the meantime, Mr. Ghelarducci barricaded himself inside Ms. Barker's room by shoving her dresser in front of the door.

Police and the Allegheny County Police SWAT team arrived soon after, and an officer attempted to negotiate with him from the first floor of the house. Eventually, police persuaded him to release Ms. Barker and their son. Mr. Ghelarducci followed them down the stairs and then pointed the gun directly at two police officers positioned there. They shot him with "less lethal munition," and he retreated to the bedroom.

A little after 6 a.m., Mr. Ghelarducci told police he poured rubbing alcohol on the mattress and on several items in the bedroom and set them on fire with a cigarette lighter. He then jumped from the second-story window, where police quickly detained him.

The house sustained "extensive damage," the affidavit said, and it took firefighters more than four hours to contain the fire.

According the affidavit, Ms. Barker ended the relationship with Mr. Ghelarducci in February 2008. Court records indicate she had obtained a protection from abuse order in April of that year on behalf of herself and her son, alleging that he had kicked her and hit her and was constantly harassing her.

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