CLEARFIELD – A Curwensville man serving a state prison sentence for robbing a Curwensville drug store pleaded guilty Monday to breaking into a restaurant.
Jeff A. Ullery, 42, pleaded guilty before Judge Paul E. Cherry and was sentenced to serve an additional one to two years in state prison for the burglary of the Central Hotel in Curwensville on April 5, 2017.
In August Cherry sentenced him to five to 10 years in state prison for the robbery of the City Drug Store in Curwensville on May 30.
Prior to sentencing, Ullery apologized for his actions. He stated that he has had time to think while incarcerated and now realizes how “out of control” his life was at that time. He asked Cherry to run his new sentence concurrent with his previous sentence.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the burglary case, when the owner arrived at the business that morning, he discovered someone had broken into the building.
He found checks lying on the floor of the dining room and discovered quarters and other change had been removed from the register. Candy was also missing.
The investigating officer found peanuts and an empty peanut pack that was sent for testing. The officer was able to determine this type of peanuts was sold at a nearby business.
A witness from another nearby business remembered Ullery coming into their store early that morning. She said he was visibly intoxicated.
He left and when he returned later, she could see he had a large amount of change in his hoodie.
When he was questioned, Ullery said he was on a week-long bender at the time of the crime and did not remember anything that happened that week.
The test results matched Ullery’s DNA to the DNA on the peanut bag.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the robbery case, the pharmacist told police that he spotted a man, later identified as Ullery, in an orange raincoat standing at their counter that day.
He asked the man if he could help him and the man responded by mumbling “I want a bottle of Percocet.” When the pharmacist asked him to repeat his request he said it again.
The man stepped back and pulled a gun from his front pocket. “No one else has to die today,” he said.
As the pharmacist went to the back of the store to get the drugs, he was able to push a silent alarm and let two other employees know they were being robbed. But, only one of them was able to hear him.
Choosing a bottle with the smallest amount of pills, the pharmacist placed it in a white bag. When he got back to the counter he held the bag out for the robber.
He asked him if he wanted to look at it. The robber stepped back again to show the pistol. The suspect then took the bag and left. As the pharmacist watched him through a window, the man walked instead of running away.
When the pharmacist gave police a description of the man, he said he looked familiar. The gun was a .22 caliber pistol with a wooden handle, he told police.
Police then spoke with Ullery’s mother at her home. She mentioned that the family was having problems with her son, Jeff Ullery, who was high all weekend.
She said he left the residence with an orange raincoat and stated he wasn’t allowed to have a gun. When she saw the surveillance camera footage, she was able to identify the robber as Jeff Ullery.
Further investigation revealed that the gun used in the crime had been taken from a relative’s bedroom.