DUBOIS – A DuBois man is facing felony charges for fighting with police after they arrived at his residence in response to an assault report.
Daniel John Confer, 38, was charged with three counts of aggravated assault, a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest and a summary harassment by DuBois City police after an altercation on Nov. 24.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim told officers he was assaulted by Confer at Confer’s home.
He stated Confer asked if he was “ever going to do anything” and called him names. Confer was reportedly so enraged that he then punched the victim in the mouth and in the head a few times, causing him to black out.
When the victim recovered consciousness, Confer was pressing him down into the couch where he began to cut at his left ankle with a pocket knife, making numerous slashes, the victim told police.
After the victim was able to get up and away from him, Confer allegedly swung the knife at him, cutting holes in the victim’s shirt near the stomach and left shoulder area. The victim then fled the home to a nearby residence.
Police attempted to make contact with Confer at his home. When they arrived, Confer swung the door open wide and walked back into his living room.
“There Confer stood in front of his Christmas tree, arms crossed and stated ‘it’s my PTSD! I had a PTSD incident!’”, according to the report.
Police say when the officer told him he didn’t know what Confer was talking about, Confer became infuriated, clenched his fists and stated numerous times “you’re gonna have to shoot me!”
He warned the officers they should not tangle with him because he knew martial arts before he reportedly moved toward his kitchen where he picked up a propane torch and ignited it.
As he stood there with the torch, he stated: “I’ll light myself on fire, don’t (expletive) with me!” over and over again, according to the criminal complaint.
An officer reminded him that his children were in the residence and he could catch the house on fire and endanger their lives.
After a few threats, he turned the torch off, but allegedly stated: “I’ll sit down but once the kids are out of the house, I’m lighting the torch again.”
As Confer moved closer to the officers, one of them tackled him onto the couch. After he advised Confer, he was under arrest, Confer reportedly fought him and began reaching for his gun.
During the scuffle, Confer allegedly kicked this officer in the head and was able to kick the second officer too.
Confer reportedly continued to try to get the gun from the first officer who struck him in the head several times, as he demanded Confer let go of the gun and stop fighting.
While this was happening, the second officer was also commanding Confer to stop resisting and was delivering dry stuns from his taser to Confer’s midsection.
Eventually, Confer let go of the gun and they were able to get him onto the floor. Confer continued to fight, as he tried to bend the officer’s fingers, which cracked numerous times, according to the report.
Confer was then taken into custody and transported to Penn Highlands DuBois for medical treatment.
He was originally scheduled for a preliminary hearing on these charges Friday, but the case was continued until Jan. 3.
Confer remains in the Clearfield County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.
