A 63-year-old Kenai resident was arrested on Tuesday after Kenai Police say they were told he was pointing a gun at vehicles near the intersection of the Kenai Spur Highway and Swires Road.
A press release from the Kenai Police Department on Wednesday morning says that Dale Curtiss was arrested and charged with two counts of third-degree assault after officers responded to reports of a man aiming a firearm into traffic just after 8 a.m.
According to a police affidavit included with charging documents, multiple parents who were dropping children at nearby Mountain View Elementary told police that they saw a man with a gun held “in a classic rifle stance” as they waited to turn off of Swires Road onto the Kenai Spur Highway.
Police found Curtiss at the intersection, with a loaded Remington 12-gauge shotgun leaning against a nearby stop sign, they said. Per the affidavit, Curtiss told police that he left his home on a nearby road and crossed through the woods and over the Kenai Spur Highway to arrive at the intersection. The affidavit does not describe any given reason by Curtiss for carrying the shotgun with him.
Curtiss told police, the affidavit says, that he had only carried the shotgun with it pointed at the ground or into the sky — also that he’d held it by the barrel. He denied “doing anything with the shotgun that would have placed anyone in fear.” Curtiss said he had been concerned about a nearby streetlight being out, and that he had placed the shotgun down against the stop sign to look at the light.
Curtiss was arraigned on Wednesday, where bail was set at $1,000 cash. He was granted a public attorney and is next scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 24 if still in custody or on Feb. 3 if out of custody.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
