PALMYRA – In the wake of Tuesday’s shooting death of 13-year-old Anthony Tucker by the man he, his mother, and two siblings were living with, many people are asking how the man accused of the slaying, who had a history of domestic issues, was able to continue to possess firearms.

Todd Curry, 39, was charged with murder Tuesday in Tucker’s death. He was involuntarily committed to the Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta less than 24 hours later after what jail officials called a mental breakdown.

Curry repeatedly had been investigated for domestic violence and was arrested in January on a charge of domestic assault, which later was downgraded to disorderly conduct at the request of the victim, April Cooley, who was Anthony Tucker’s mother. By asking prosecutors to drop the charges against Curry, thereby preventing a possible domestic violence conviction, Cooley inadvertently prevented authorities from seizing the gun that eventually killed her son. Federal law bars convicted domestic abusers from owning a firearm.

Somerset County Sheriff Barry Delong confirmed this week that deputies had gone to the Curry home in Palmyra many times in response to domestic incidents and problems with neighbors. Calls frequently involved accusations that Curry was firing weapons.

Tucker’s slaying was the fourth killing in Somerset County since August, a statistic that is so out of whack that even veteran police officers are shaking their heads. In all 2005, there was only a single homicide in the county.

The only thing eclipsing the local sense of loss is the anger now boiling over that Curry possessed guns, despite his repeated involvement in incidents that summoned police.

On Wednesday alone, 31 readers sent comments to the BDN Web site (www.bangordailynews.com), many of them questioning why it took a death before police acted. One BDN reader wrote, “A little boy is dead in the prime of his life at the hands of an adult. We should all be ashamed and saddened that this tragedy was not prevented.”

Somerset County District Attorney Evert Fowle explained Thursday that state law only allows the seizure of firearms when a person is the subject of a protection order or has committed a felony crime. Curry did not fall into either category.

Federal law states that anyone convicted of domestic violence may be barred from owning or possessing firearms. Curry had no such conviction.

According to Somerset County court records, Curry filed a protection from harassment complaint earlier this year against Cooley, who shared Curry’s home along with Cooley’s two children from a previous relationship and an infant child she had had this year with Curry.

In that complaint, Curry stated that Cooley verbally and physically assaulted him. He filed a motion to drop the protection order, noting that Cooley was pregnant with his child. “The most important consideration is the child,” Curry wrote in his motion.

In January, Curry was arrested on charges of domestic assault against Cooley, but later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.

Neighbors also filed a protection-from-harassment order against Curry in November 2005, stating that he had a history of mental illness and had been shooting firearms. According to the statements in that order, Curry was involved in a border dispute with the neighbors and would fire rounds from a semiautomatic firearm near the disputed border.

Fowle said that the domestic violence charge against Curry was downgraded to disorderly conduct after the victim, April Cooley, asked that the charges be dropped. “She was very clear and adamant about that,” said Fowle. He said that 50 percent of domestic violence victims make similar requests.

“That is part of the insidious nature of domestic violence,” he said. “The victim often has strong bonds of affection with the abuser. We are not blaming the victim, and we do the best we can to balance the feelings of the victim with the criminal nature of the incident.”

Fowle said Cooley’s alleged assault did not involve serious injuries, but the district attorney did not want to drop it completely and settled for the lesser charge.

“We make domestic violence one of our top priorities,” Fowle said. “That’s why we put a lot of resources and time into enforcement. Frankly, that is because of the potential of something like this tragedy happening.”

Asked Thursday why his deputies were unable to act in the face of Curry’s apparent mental deterioration during their many visits this past year to the Curry home, Delong said, “We can’t call for assistance for a family, even if we see they are struggling, without their cooperation.”

The sad reality, he said, is that in Somerset County only two deputies are covering 3,000 square miles per shift. “They are basically running from call to call, and those deputies are dealing with as many people with mental illness as they are criminals.”

In this case, Delong said, Curry was a Merchant Marine who was out to sea more than he was home, so constant contact was not happening.

“But even when there was interaction, the victim often asked that no charges be filed. Our hands are then tied,” he said.

Many BDN readers questioned why the mother did not remove herself and the children from what appeared to be an escalating atmosphere of violence. Some boldly said they felt Cooley should be charged with endangering her children.

The details of the events that led to Anthony Tucker’s death have been sealed in court records. No other charges have been filed.

Domestic violence advocates, however, said Thursday that many victims see no way out of a desperate situation, and it needs to be remembered that they are indeed victims.

“Our hearts go out to Anthony Tucker’s family. It’s a terrible tragedy to lose a child, but especially so under these horrific circumstances,” Deborah Shepherd of the Maine Family Violence Project said Thursday.

“There is one person responsible for Anthony’s death, the person who pulled the trigger, but I think this act should instill in the whole community an even stronger resolve to end domestic violence, which accounts for over half the homicides in Maine.”

Kate Faragher Houghton of the Family Violence Project at Augusta said that she too has been reading readers’ comments and blogs on the killing and has been dismayed by some of the accusatory remarks.

Faragher Houghton said she looks forward to a healthy debate on the issue of domestic violence, but the timing this week is “really insensitive for the families that are reeling from this loss.”

Leslie Dickinson of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence said Thursday that “after such a horrific incident there is generally a lot of blaming of the victim, but there is also a great lack of understanding of the whole dynamic of domestic violence.”

In 2005, 10 of the 19 Maine homicides reported were considered domestic violence.

“These are not isolated incidents, but rather a whole course of conduct,” she said. “Generally, the victimizer nearly always reminds the woman that if she leaves, he will kill her. He convinces her more and more of her worthlessness and undermines her self-esteem. The situation also becomes more complicated when shared children are involved.”

Eventually, the victim believes she cannot function without the abuser, she said.

Dickinson said she would like to remind the public “not to judge when you don’t know the details.”

Curry’s first court appearance has been set for Jan. 3 in Somerset County Superior Court.

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