Trial set for country singer in Ga. threats case

[August 15, 2013]  SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- A judge Wednesday scheduled an Oct. 4 trial date for country singer Billy Currington, who was charged in the spring with threatening a 70-year-old tour boat captain who cruised past the dock of a $3.5 million waterfront home in Georgia where the singer was staying.

Currington's attorney, Alex Zipperer, entered a not guilty plea for the singer during a brief hearing in state court. Currington wasn't in the Savannah courtroom.

Tour boat captain Charles Harvey Ferrelle and his two passengers told police they were cruising along a coastal Georgia creek near Tybee Island on April 15 when a man became irate, jumped in his own boat and began chasing them. They later identified the man as Currington from a photograph.

Currington followed Ferrelle and his passengers to the dock where he keeps his tour boat, according to a police affidavit. They said Currington stayed in his boat and began calling Ferrelle foul names, then told Ferrelle that he and his brother would "catch him in the river" and "finish him off."

Zipperer has said in court filings that Currington denies the allegations.

Currington was charged with making terroristic threats and abuse of an elderly person -- each count a felony punishable by one to five years in prison. He was jailed briefly in April before being freed on $27,000 bond.

Currington grew up in Rincon, near Savannah. His hits include "Pretty Good At Drinkin' Beer," "'That's How Country Boys Roll" and "People Are Crazy."

[Associated Press]

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