A Bradford man who was accused of threatening to shoot someone was one of several people to appear for preliminary hearings on Wednesday in McKean County.
Ryan S. Thomas, 38, of Bradford, had the following charges against him bound to court at a hearing before District Judge Dominic Cercone: possession of a firearm prohibited, a first-degree felony; receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony; terroristic threats, a first-degree misdemeanor; and simple assault, a second-degree misdemeanor.
The criminal complaint in the case alleged that at 12:48 p.m. Nov. 9, police were called to the Amm Street residence by the victim, who said Thomas had pointed a gun at her and threatened to shoot her during a domestic dispute. Thomas was taken into custody, and police learned he had a prior felony conviction in Elk County, the complaint stated.
Thomas is in McKean County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.
Also on Wednesday, Melissa A. Smith, 30, of Bradford, had bound to court two counts of access device fraud, third-degree felonies, at a preliminary hearing before Cercone.
Smith is a different person than McKean County Treasurer Melissa Jo Smith, who has a similar name.
According to the criminal complaint, a woman reported to Bradford City Police that someone used her debit card without her permission. She explained that she had back surgery in December 2019 and had given her debit card to Melissa A. Smith to purchase food, medicine and other items for her while she was recovering.
At the end of February, Smith told the woman that someone stole the woman’s card, so the woman canceled the card, got a new card and gave the new card to Smith.
In May, the woman noticed unauthorized charges on her bank statements and confronted Smith.
Smith admitted to using the card and said she would pay the woman back when she got her tax return, according to the complaint. She also told the woman she would give the woman her son’s disability check and get a job to earn money.
Smith told the woman that she thought she was using her own card for all the purchases, the complaint stated.
Court records state that Smith used cards belonging to the alleged victim on 98 occasions between Jan. 16 and May 4 for a total of $11,228.31. At the time the complaint was filed in November, Smith had paid back $1,189.
Smith is free on unsecured bail.
Melissa A. Harp, 30, of Bradford, had the following charges against her bound to court in a hearing before District Judge Richard Luther: terroristic threats, a first-degree misdemeanor; simple assault, a second-degree misdemeanor; possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor; and summary harassment.
According to the criminal complaint, Harp held a kitchen knife up and told her mother she was going to stab her. Investigating officers found that she was in possession of a marijuana pipe and a container with marijuana residue, too.
Harp is jailed in lieu of $10,000 bail.
Timothy W. Durgan, 28, and Hannah E. Sheldon, 29, both of Coudersport, waived preliminary hearings for allegations Durgan removed one catalytic converter from someone else’s vehicle and started to cut one from a second vehicle; Durgan and Sheldon possessed one of the catalytic converters in their vehicle, along with about 4.97 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, according to court records.
Durgan is charged with two counts of theft of secondary metal, third-degree felonies; two counts each of theft from a motor vehicle and possessing an instrument of crime and one count of receiving stolen property, first-degree misdemeanors; possession of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanors.
Meanwhile, Sheldon is charged with receiving stolen property, a first-degree misdemeanor; possession of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanors.
Durgan is jailed in lieu of $20,000 bail, and Sheldon is free on unsecured bail.
Brittany A. Corter, 24, of Bradford, waived a preliminary hearing for a charge of access device fraud, a third-degree felony.
She is free on unsecured bail.
Jason Carter, 46, of East Smethport, waived a preliminary hearing for the following charges: two counts of endangering the welfare of children, a third-degree felony and a first-degree misdemeanor; five counts of DUI for alcohol and controlled substances, misdemeanors; and 10 summary traffic charges.
According to Lewis Run-based state police, Carter was driving erratically while he had a 4-year-old girl and a 10-year-old girl in his vehicle. Police determined that he was DUI.
Carter is free, having posted $10,000 bail.
Dale P. Cook, 45, of Friendship, N.Y., waived a preliminary hearing on the following charges: endangering the welfare of children, a first-degree misdemeanor; recklessly endangering another person, a second-degree misdemeanor; six counts of DUI for alcohol and controlled substances, misdemeanors; and four summary traffic violations. He is free on unsecured bail.
