CLEARFIELD, Pa. — A Curwensville woman accused of leaving her child unsupervised near a loaded gun and drugs waived her right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court.
Danielle Robin Hepfer, 29, faces felony charges of endangering the welfare of children and misdemeanor corruption of minors stemming from an incident on Feb. 16.
The case moves to the Court of Common Pleas for further disposition. A judge set her bail at $50,000, unsecured.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, police arrived at Hepfer’s home as part of an investigation into her fiancé, Isaac Duane Kunselman, 30, who was suspected of selling drugs. An officer waited with Hepfer while other officers obtained a search warrant. Hepfer allegedly told the officer she had seen Kunselman smoking fentanyl that day and was aware of his methamphetamine distribution. She also noted the presence of drug paraphernalia and two doses of naloxone in the home.
While they spoke, Hepfer’s 2-year-old son reportedly walked around the house and up and down the stairs, playing upstairs for most of the wait. At one point, the officer escorted Hepfer upstairs to check on the boy. The child was playing in his bedroom across the hall from the bedroom shared by Hepfer and Kunselman. The door to the couple’s room was open and unobstructed, police said.
During the search of that bedroom, police allegedly found a shotgun with a shell in the firing chamber and additional shells in the magazine tube. Next to the firearm, officers found 1.5 ounces of methamphetamine inside a sandwich bag. Two razor blades sat on top of a small, open safe on a table next to the mattress. The safe reportedly contained numerous stamp baggies and plastic bags with white powdery residue.
Investigators noted that all items were within the child’s reach.
Kunselman faces several charges following a separate traffic stop in Houtzdale, including felony possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturer number, driving under the influence, and misdemeanor counts of intentional possession of a controlled substance and obstruction of justice. When searched, Kunselman allegedly possessed foil containing a white powdery substance suspected to be fentanyl and a bottle of 40 clonazepam pills. Police reported finding seven long guns and a handgun with obliterated serial numbers inside the vehicle.
Following a Feb. 25 preliminary hearing, a judge held all charges for court. Kunselman posted $50,000 bail. Prosecutors later withdrew additional charges related to the search of his home.
