Jesse Daniels was checking on a house he was renovating when he found several boys inside tearing things up.
The boys were using a hammer to destroy as much as possible.
Daniels wanted to hang onto the vandals so he locked the four boys, all between eight and ten in a closet until police arrived.
That’s where things went bad for Jesse.
The kids parents claim Daniels threatened their boys with a hammer and grabbed one by the throat before stuffing them in the closet.
Cops in New York say that would lead to charges of endangering the welfare of a child, a crime punishable by up to year in jail for each child.
On parent told 13WHAM . "I understand they were in the wrong but there are other ways to handle it."
The boys are in trouble as well including facing felony charges of second degree burglary and second degree criminal mischief.