HUDSON, Maine — A dispute over a cigarette Thursday appears to have prompted a local man to fire two rounds of ammunition into the ground near where his stepson was standing, according to state police.
Maine State Police Lt. Wesley Hussey said no one was injured in the incident, which happened about 3:15 p.m. at a residence on Hudson Hill Road.
As of Thursday night, no one had been charged in connection with the incident, Maine State Police Sgt. David Millett said.
Millett said that information gathered by police Thursday afternoon and evening will be turned over to the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office for consideration. He said potential charges include reckless conduct with a firearm.
According to Millett, state police and Penobscot County sheriff’s deputies were sent to 244 Hudson Hill Road after Josh Curtis, 26, of Kenduskeag reported that he had been shot at by his stepfather, 46-year-old Gerald Bernier.
Emergency dispatchers told Curtis to go to nearby Hudson Elementary School to await police, Millett said.
During the course of the subsequent investigation, police learned that the dispute between the two men was triggered by Curtis’ request for a cigarette.
“He called his stepfather to ask for a cigarette but the stepfather told him not to come over,” Millett said. When Curtis showed up at Bernier’s home regardless, Bernier reportedly took out a shotgun and fired two rounds into the ground near Curtis’ feet.
Millett said that the two men were standing 15 to 20 feet apart at the time and that it wasn’t clear how close the shots were to where Curtis was standing.
“It depends who you believe. There were a couple of different sides to the story,” Millett said.
Curtis was not struck, but he did have a small bruise on his arm that might have been caused by a flying rock or some other debris, Millett said.
Millett said the incident was “isolated” and that there was no threat to the public.
“Both the suspect and the alleged victim were completely cooperative,” the sergeant said, adding that there were many similarities in each man’s version of what took place.
Millett also said there were no indications that either man had been drinking.
Using a firearm during a domestic dispute “was probably not the smartest thing” on Bernier’s part, Millett said. “He should have called the police first.”
Another story the BDN does not have all the facts. At least they updated a few details .
Ok BDN I think it was Bernier that took out out the shot gun when Curtis took out the Baseball bat. Never bring a Baseball Bat to a Gun fight.
That was quite a nic-fit. At 26, buy your own.
Smoking IS hazardous to your health!
Either this story desperately needs editing or Curtis should be charged for attempting to shoot himself in the foot.
1) Curtis reportedly took out a shotgun and fired two rounds into the ground near Curtis’ feet.
2) Using a firearm during a domestic dispute “was probably not the smartest thing” on Curtis’ part
UPDATE: I see it just got fixed. I hope that un-confuses a few people.
See my other post. I know more that I can tell here . Smarten up Josh you have a great son. Your step dad was trying to knock some sense into you before it is too late.
They didn’t haul stepdaddy away in handcuffs so I figured there’s more to it. I hope they can get it fixed.
Well we all hope the stepson grows up he has a great son. Ya never get the whole story from the paper. Even people I do not care much for I like to see do well.
A nice outlook. Thank you.
You are a good man, Bobby, and supportive of those you know. That can only be a good thing.
Yes you can only stick your neck out so many times to try and help someone. Comes a point where you need to walk away and hope for the best. I have known MR. Bernier a long time he has done a lot for his stepson Everyone has a breaking point.
I do not think thier is any fixing this in the short term . All the Kings men and all the Kings Horses could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Editing before publishing does not happen here.
Don’t let the fact get in the way of a good story.
Well now they changed it, for a while there I was really coming to terms that it is possible someone shoots themselves instead. I wish journalists would stick with one story here
Good thing he didn’t ask for cash!
Isn’t a smoke still cheaper than two shotgun rounds?
How far did he travel to bum a cigarette and did he walk or waste gas??
I dun do believe i’s hear a banja!
How original…When someone robs a Rite Aid do you wittily reply..”I hear rap music”?
really dude????
He drove. A piece of junk car with no registration and an illegal sticker.
And gun owners wonder why the rest of us distrust their ability to act within the law.
Guess you do not Know all the facts. What law did the gun owner break? Which one got caught in a lie to the LE ? No problem the media never has all the facts.
Comments like yours make gun owners distrust the real purpose of “gun control”.
dont break into my house and you will never have to worry. :)
Thank God this dispute was not over a pint of Allens Coffee Brandy, this could have been
much more serious!
I don’t see where shooting a couple rounds into the earth while dicussing anything is a crime. Police officers have guns to intimidate people everyday. Police have pepper spray, billy clubs, tazers and guns amoung other things, when they stop you or talk to you about anything they display their “weapons” proudly. While people with guns which are concidered firearms are not concidered weapons.
Police did a good job finding out the facts. Lets hope the DA. Is being a straight shooter on this one. I do not have a whole lot a faith in the DA.
agreed, the Police always do a good job..
I was thinking on the term of intimation, I don’t see a crime here.
Aren’t broken homes great?
Wow, this time you didn’t blame the gun you blamed a broken home! My children came from a broken home and my son has guns and has never pointed it at anything but a target and my children have never been in trouble!!
If it is 1688, I win!
Nice Try 16 lol but you are not the one picking on my spelling . Just saying things like that i can do in my head. No i can not spell . We all have different abilities .
Anytime you have 10 officers in Hudson with AR15s and 12 gauge pumps it news .
Not really, I have relatives in Hudson. Quite a little town.
Ya me too lol
And once again BDN only got part of the story go figure.
you’d prefer they speculate and report rumors?
Want the whole story I could give it you. Ya think he had A real reason to ask the kid not to come over? Well I can tell you he did . If I saw a man in my yard with a base ball bat he would not be calling the police. Just saying.
you are confusing me with someone who cares about the ‘whole story’.
no but I know the people and also the true story
Yes me too . Oh wait let me check I have only know MR. Bernier all my life.
I would have done the same thing if I were in his shoes
Yeah, shooting at someone cause of a cigarette is kind of overkill I’d think. I mean their expensive as crap, maybe he got all wound up cause the guy was helping himself to smokes and the dude was sick of supporting someone else habit. That probably has nothing to do with it though, I would say that there is probably some underlying family issue that brought this on, and the cigarette story was just one told to the police.
Over the last 3 decades or so warnings have been added to cigarette packs around the world to educate or scare people into quitting what most people deem a nasty and unhealthy habit. They’ve ranged from the Surgeon General warning in the US to pictures of mouth cancer in other countries. I’m not sure that a picture of these two with guns a blazing would be a big deterrent for others to quit, but it might substantially reduce smoking in the hills of West Virginia.
what the fuzz is wrong with people nowadays?
Have people in Maine gone loco?
I swear this state is becoming an episode of “the Hatfield’s and the McCoys.” Firing a shot over a cigarette!! On another note, the step-son should have been able to provide his own cigarettes.
They didn’t say the kind of cigarette. I bet it didn’t have a filter.
“According to Millett, state police and Penobscot County sheriff’s deputies were sent to 244 Hudson Hill Road after Josh Curtis, 26, of Kenduskeag reported that he had been shot at by his stepfather, 46-year-old Gerald Bernier.”
_____________________________________________________
and we know the rest of that line is NOT “after a hard day at work.”
Nicotine from tobacco, ah the second most favorite drug to productive members in society, short of Tylenol and Nudging out Alcohol. I’m looking at this person like they did bath salts just sayin’. Lock em up throw away the keys, druggies.
josh, josh, josh… when will you learn? *LOL*