27-year-old Justin Curlee was jailed on Easter Sunday after beating up his girlfriend in a drunken rage and locking her in a bedroom at an apartment complex on Cheyenne Blvd. Police responded after a person with a weapon call and saw Leanna McCombs running out of the apartment screaming for help. As the officer entered the apartment, he saw Curlee jump out of a window and run away. The officer ran after him, and he immediately complied with commands. He said, “I’m guilty; take me to jail.”
He refused to talk about the incident. Leanna told police they went on an Easter egg hunt where Curlee had a few drinks. When they returned to the apartment, he started acting irate and aggressive. Curlee put Leanna inside a bedroom and kept her there. She asked him why he was doing this to her, and he kept replying, “Nothing.” She tried to climb out of a window in the bedroom, but Curlee tackled her and pushed her through the bedroom door, causing it to fall off the hinges; the officer saw the door on the living room floor. Leanna told police that after Curlee tackled her, he punched her in the face multiple times, leaving her with a bloody nose, a busted lip, and a bruised forehead. He then forced her into the hall closet and pulled out a knife saying, “If you scream, I’ll kill you.”
Leanna eventually talked him into putting the knife down, and while he was looking away, she grabbed her cell phone and hid it until she could call the police. When they heard officers knocking on the door, Curlee told her, “Be quiet. You say anything, and I’ll kill you. You’ll die today.” Leanna convinced her she wouldn’t make any noise, and as soon as he looked away, she ran out the door for help.