DUBOIS – A DuBois man will stand trial for pulling a gun on a driver and his children.
Scott V. Moldenhauer, 43, 12 Murtland Ave., DuBois, is charged with three counts of simple assault, terroristic threats and recklessly endangering another person and four counts of disorderly conduct and harassment. After a preliminary hearing, District Judge Patrick Ford ruled that these charges be sent on to the court of common pleas. Additional charges of terroristic threats, harassment and disorderly conduct were dismissed. He is free on $10,000, unsecured bail.
The charges stem from an incident on July 11 in DuBois.
The first witness was the driver, a 38-year-old DuBois man, who was driving with his two children when he made a turn onto Spring Avenue from Main Street. It is a narrow street he explained, and when he saw another car coming up the street, he said that driver threw his arms up in the air. The victim backed up to let him pass.
As the car approached his vehicle, the driver of that vehicle, identified as Moldenhauer rolled down his window. The victim did the same. The two exchanged “words,” the victim testified before Moldenhauer pulled a gun and pointed it “right at me.” He then asked, “Do you have a problem now?”
His son who was in the front passenger seat warned him, “Dad, he has a gun.”
When District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. asked how this made the victim feel, he responded “scared,” especially because his kids were in the car.
As the car drove off, the victim was able to get his license plate number and call 9-1-1.
The victim’s son testified to the same events and identified Moldenhauer as the one who pulled the gun on his father. Prior to this, he said they swore at each other and then the driver asked, “Do you have a problem with me?” to which his dad replied “yes.” The driver then pulled the gun and asked, “Do you have a problem now?” The son also said he was frightened after this event.
Officer Joseph Stanton of the DuBois City police testified that when he and another officer spoke to Moldenhauer by phone, he admitted to pulling the gun, which he said he just displayed and did not point at the occupants of the car. At the time of the call, which was about 30 minutes after the incident, Stanton stated that Moldenhauer sounded intoxicated.
Moldenhauer was asked to go to the police station but he did not. According to the affidavit of probable cause, he was asked to go to the station several times but refused. He was told they needed to verify that he had a permit to carry the firearm and offered to travel to his location, but he stated, “I’m done talking to you,” and hung up. During the next few days, officers tried to contact him again with negative results.
After dismissing some of the charges, Ford agreed to add a “no contact” and no alcohol clause to his bail conditions.