CLEARFIELD – A Houtzdale man accused of brandishing a shotgun during a domestic dispute with his father waived all charges to court at his preliminary hearing Wednesday at the Clearfield County Jail.
Dominic Allen McKinney, 19, of Houtzdale has been charged with simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and harassment. Bail was originally set at $50,000 monetary but modified to $25,000 unsecured at his hearing.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, at approximately 10:45 p.m. Feb. 11 state police were dispatched to an alleged domestic dispute at a Good Street residence in Houtzdale Borough.
Upon arrival state police interviewed the victim, McKinney’s father. He said he was sick in bed most of the day and at one point, he asked McKinney for assistance with the heater system in his bedroom.
McKinney refused to help, the victim told state police. The victim started walking downstairs toward the kitchen and living room when McKinney allegedly “flipped out.”
The victim alleged McKinney grabbed his neck area, which caused a minor abrasion. He said he continued to the kitchen to get a hammer in their junk drawer to work on the heating system.
As he started to walk out of the kitchen, the victim alleged that McKinney was standing in the living room and holding a shotgun with the barrel directed toward the floor.
At one point, he alleged that McKinney began to raise the shotgun in an upward direction. He said it was allegedly directed toward his “knee cap” area before he took action.
After McKinney raised the shotgun toward him, the victim said he turned the hammer around and used it to strike his son’s right wrist with the wooden stock.
The victim told state police that he was scared for his daughter’s life. He said that she was in the vicinity when the alleged incident occurred with McKinney.
State police also interviewed McKinney about the alleged domestic dispute. McKinney claimed that his father was acting like an “idiot” all day long.
He said his father was “flipping out” and when he asked for help with the heater system, he gave him options, which were all rejected.
McKinney said he started walking downstairs and his father was directly behind him. He claimed that his father pushed him, and he turned around and punched him with a closed fist.
When his father reached the bottom of the steps, McKinney said he went to the kitchen to retrieve a hammer. McKinney said he then went to his bedroom and got a shotgun.
McKinney admitted that he downloaded two shotgun shells and then returned to the living room. He also allegedly admitted that he held the shotgun with the barrel pointing toward the ceiling.
However, McKinney denied that he pointed the shotgun at his father. He said his father struck him with the hammer and his sister grabbed the shotgun and tossed it across the room.
State police recovered the shotgun from McKinney’s bedroom. It had two, live 12-gauge shotgun rounds inside the pipe.