Jeannette man paroled after guilty plea for police standoff

A Jeannette man was released from jail this week after he was sentenced to serve up to 23 months behind bars for an incident that resulted in a 11-hour police standoff in April.

Jesse McCurdy, 49, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of risking a catastrophe and illegal possession of firearms related to the standoff at a Good Street home where authorities said he held police at bay for several hours following an attempt to serve him with a protection from abuse order.

According to court records, Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies came to the home at 6:45 p.m. on April 19 and McCurdy refused to leave the residence. A teen-aged boy escaped the home through an upstairs window, police said.

McCurdy meanwhile remained in house as police established a perimeter around the property and called in a Special Emergency Response Team.

Police said McCurdy set fire to a couch during the siege and firefighters were not permitted to enter home to extinguish the flames due to safety concerns.

Negotiation to secure McCurdy’s surrender initially failed as were efforts to force him from the home through the deployment tear gas and flash bangs.

After about 11 hours, just after 5 a.m. on April 20, McCurdy surrendered and was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Police said they seized two guns from the home, weapons that McCurdy was not permitted to possess, according to court records.

McCurdy participated in Wednesday’s court hearing by video from the county jail, where he was been held without bond since his arrest since the end of April.

Prosecutors dismissed one arson count, the most serious offense he faced, and charges of obstruction of justice and trespassing.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger sentenced McCurdy serve at least a month in jail, gave him credit for the time he’s been incarcerated and ordered he be immediately paroled.