HARRINGTON — Continuing friction between a 59-year-old Harrington man and town police resulted in a felony terroristic threatening charge on Dec. 15, authorities said in an arrest affidavit.

Jerome A. Loveless, of the 600 block of Harrington Avenue, was charged in connection to an alleged confrontation with a Harrington Police sergeant during the late morning on Dec. 9, according to court papers.

In documents, authorities said an alleged interaction was recorded on a patrol car’s video camera, and terroristic threatening and harassment charges were recommended after a review by the Delaware Department of Justice.

The alleged incident began at about 11:32 a.m. when a patrol officer on southbound U.S. 13 saw Mr. Loveless readying to turn onto the highway heading the same way, according to documents.

According to the officer “it appeared” that Mr. Loveless allegedly uttered an expletive in his direction as he neared, which supposedly drew a smile from police as he continued southbound.

Shortly afterward, according to the officer in the affidavit, the patrol car made a U-turn to head north on U.S. 13.

Mr. Loveless was allegedly seen pointing at an officer from a Valero parking lot, according to the affidavit, which police believed could possibly be an attempt to flag him down.

The officer, who noted in papers he was the only patrolman taking complaints that day, pulled toward the parking lot. He activated his patrol video camera due to past encounters with Mr. Loveless, the affidavit said.

The officer claimed he pulled up and asked “How can I help you Mr. Loveless?” That was allegedly followed by man, listed as 6-foot-3, 260 pounds in court papers, “approaching the car in an aggressive manner” while cursing and pointing at the nearby officer in the car.

According to the officer, the video recording allegedly captured Mr. Loveless saying, “Let me tell you something you little, you smile at me one more time or follow my follow my son one more time you [expletive, expletive].

“Come on. I wish you would, I wish you would, I wish you would. Keep following my son and see what happens. I’ll kick your [expletive.] That’s a promise.”

According to the officer, he responded with “Get out of my face, get out of my face or you’re getting locked up. Any day.

“Keep calling me an [expletive.] I think you got a certified letter sent to your house. Keep it up, keep it up.

“I’m not following your son so what are we going to do about it Mr. Loveless. Is that a threat? Is it a promise? OK.

“Have a great day Mr. Loveless. Have a good day. You have a nice day.”

Past incidents referenced

According to police in papers, Mr. Loveless was sent a certified letter on Aug. 8 “stemming from incidents of the summer where Mr. Loveless would see on patrol and cuss at him and display his middle finger at him as he drove by.”

Authorities said Mr. Loveless received the letter and went to the Harrington Police Department to discuss the matter. According to police, Mr. Loveless was warned that further actions would bring criminal harassment charges.

An officer said he volunteered to meet with Mr. Loveless to discuss any issues but “Mr, Loveless did not follow through with this.”

Terroristic threatening of public officials or public servants is a class G felony, while harassment is a class A misdemeanor.

Mr. Loveless’s case was transferred to Kent County Superior Court.

Police arrested Mr. Loveless on June 3, 2014, for being a local fugitive, according to a news release at the time. According to authorities, he had an active capias for failing to follow court ordered guidelines after pleading guilty to a second offense driving under the influence. Mr. Loveless was taken into custody without incident and released on $5,000 unsecured bond.

On Aug. 11, 2013, police said in a news release that Mr. Loveless was arrested for allegedly trying to flee from an officer for a traffic violation. A high speed pursuit ended with Mr. Loveless taken into custody without incident. He was charged with DUI and several traffic citations for unreasonable speed, aggressive driving, failure to use turn signal and failure to stop at stop sign. He was given an unsecured bond and released on a pending court appearance.