CURWENSVILLE – A Curwensville Borough employee is facing DUI and related charges following an incident involving his ex-wife.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, filed Jan. 10 at District Judge Mike Morris’ office, Dennis Dean Curry Jr., 44, of Curwensville has been charged by the Curwensville Borough police with two counts of DUI: highest rate of alcohol, first offence; two counts of DUI: general impairment, first offense and one count of restrictions on alcoholic beverages.
According to the affidavit, at 9:16 p.m. Dec. 17, police were contacted by the Clearfield County 911 Center regarding an unwanted male at a residence on High Street.
The victim said her ex-husband was outside her home and he was refusing to leave after being told to. The victim told dispatchers that she believed he had been drinking.
When the officer arrived at the residence, he saw a white truck parked outside the house. The officer reported that the vehicle was running, and the headlights were on.
As the officer approached the vehicle, he saw an individual he recognized as Curry, who is employed as the Curwensville Borough street crew foreman, sitting behind the wheel of the vehicle.
The officer approached the driver’s side of the truck, which had the window down, and the officer could smell a strong odor of alcohol.
The officer asked Curry what he was doing at the residence, and the officer observed Curry was having a difficult time collecting his thoughts. Curry reportedly held up one finger in a “wait a minute” gesture.
Curry then allegedly said “I’m drunk,” and laughed. The officer advised Curry that he (the officer) could tell that Curry was drunk, as he was slurring his speech, his eyes were glassy and blood-shot and there was an “intense” odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle.
Curry allegedly told the officer that he had been at The Smokehouse earlier that day and had been “getting along” with his ex-wife and thought he would drive up and talk to her.
The officer asked Curry to get out of the vehicle to perform field sobriety tests. Before Curry exited the vehicle, he reportedly told the officer that he had a handgun in the middle console of his truck.
The officer told Curry to leave it there, but Curry picked it up and the officer took the gun. The officer observed that the magazine of the weapon was empty, but the chamber had one .22 round inside. Upon securing the weapon, the officer had Curry put it back in the truck.
When Curry got out of the truck, the officer saw an open can of beer, along with a 12-pack of beer cans on the passenger seat.
The officer attempted to have Curry perform field sobriety tests, but Curry allegedly told the officer he “didn’t want to” because he “was drunk.” Curry was placed under arrest and secured him in the rear of the patrol car.
The officer then spoke to the victim who said she saw Curry at The Smokehouse earlier that day. The victim said shortly after she left, she started getting text messages from Curry.
She said she had responded a few times, but then told Curry that she was not responding to him anymore. However, Curry continued to text her. The victim said around 9:15 p.m., Curry attempted to call her, but she was on another call and did not answer.
The victim said she saw headlights on her street and when she looked out, she saw Curry driving the white truck toward her house. The victim said she saw Curry sitting in the truck outside her house.
The victim said Curry wanted her to go outside and talk to him, but she refused, as her children were asleep in bed. The victim said she called Curry and told him if he didn’t leave, she was going to call the police. The victim agreed to provide a written statement.
Curry was taken to Penn Highlands Clearfield where blood alcohol testing revealed he had a BAC of 0.219 at the time of the incident.
Curry waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday sending his case to Clearfield County Court of Common Pleas for further disposition. Bail is set at $2,500 unsecured.