Dec 20, 2018 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – A Kentucky man was arrested Thursday and accused of threatening to bring a gun with him the next time he saw Greene County President Judge Farley Toothman following a hearing last month.

Waynesburg police said Barry Thornberry was at the Fort Jackson Building for a domestic relations conference Nov. 13 when he allegedly made the threat to county staff that later prompted sheriff’s deputies to enhance security at the Greene County Courthouse across the street in an effort to protect Toothman and other workers in the building.

Thornberry was discussing the results of a conference with Jana Knight, a county domestic relations officer, when she told him that if he did not like the order she handed down, he could appeal the decision and request a hearing before Toothman. Thornberry then allegedly said the next time he sees Toothman “it will be with a gun” and that “he has had enough” of the judge, according to court documents.

Knight responded that he shouldn’t make such a threat and gave him an opportunity to recant the statement. According to court documents, Thornberry allegedly responded to Knight and other county staff, “Yeah, you think I’m kidding.”

“That basically made it into a significant issue,” said Waynesburg police Officer Marcus Simms, who filed the charges Wednesday.

Simms, who also serves as the Greene County sheriff’s office chief deputy, said authorities were immediately alerted to the threat and took extra precautions to protect the courthouse. He added that sheriff’s deputies and security workers at the courthouse were given photographs of Thornberry.

“We notified our security staff of the situation,” Simms said. “There were concerns for (Toothman’s) safety and well-being. The deputies were on the lookout for (Thornberry).”

Simms said investigators think Thornberry returned to his home in Greyson, Ky., after that hearing. He was scheduled to return to Waynesburg for a 1 p.m. hearing Thursday before Toothman at the courthouse, where deputies arrested him. Simms said Thornberry was taken into custody without incident as he walked into the courthouse and was allowed to attend his scheduled hearing on the domestic relations issue before he was set to be arraigned on the charges.

Toothman declined to comment, although Court Administrator Sheila Rode said they filed an incident report with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts upon learning of the threat from courthouse staff last month. Rode said Toothman was at the courthouse Thursday afternoon when Thornberry was taken into custody before his hearing.

Simms is unsure if Thornberry and the judge have interacted with each other in the past.

“It’s somewhat unusual,” Simms said of threats against judges and courthouse staff. “Luckily, it’s a sparse type of incident.”

Thornberry, 59, faces charges of terroristic threats, harassment and disorderly conduct. District Judge David Balint arraigned him Thursday afternoon and set his bond at $5,000 before his Jan. 2 preliminary hearing.