NEWS

WITH VIDEO: Port Huron man facing 9 charges following machete incident

Liz Shepard
Times Herald

A 32-year-old Port Huron man is facing multiple felonies after allegedly charging police officers with a machete.

Joseph Michael Curtis was arraigned Tuesday on five charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of domestic violence second offense, assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer and carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent.

Joseph Michael Curtis pushes on the hood of Officer James Gilbert's patrol car and moves to swing his machete shown on the Port Huron police video from their patrol car. The altercation occurred Sunday morning, April 16.

Police were called to the 1300 block of White Street in Port Huron about 8 a.m. Sunday to a report of a domestic dispute between two brothers.

Upon arrival, Curtis was allegedly outside with a machete and charged the officers. After the man did not comply with orders to drop the machete, police deployed a "less lethal shotgun," shooting him with beanbag rounds, according to the Port Huron Police Department.

According to the Michigan Offender Tracking System, Curtis was discharged from the Michigan Department of Corrections Nov. 17. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to charges of attempted receiving and concealing firearms and firearms possession by a felon and was sentenced to three to 10 years, according to OTIS.

Curtis also pleaded guilty to breaking and entering a vehicle to steal $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, unlawfully driving away an automobile and assault with intent great bodily harm less than murder. He was sentenced to up to 10 years and was discharged from the department of corrections in October 2013.

Bond was set at $250,000 cash or surety, no 10 percent.

Because he is a habitual offender, Curtis could face life in prison if convicted of felonious assault, a five-year felony.

Contact Liz Shepard at (810) 989-6273 or lshepard@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @lvshepard.