The Ephrata lawyer accused of threatening to kill authorities officers within the Washington, DC, space had the means to do it, based on police paperwork detailing his arrest.
Of their Jan. 21 search of a automotive belonging to Kenelm L Shirk III, state police discovered an AR-15 rifle, two handguns, “a big amount of ammunition” (together with 30 rounds of .380 bullets), rope, gloves and about $5,000 in a number of rolls of $50 payments. The objects had been discovered after Shirk was arrested at a Sheetz close to Shippensburg.
Police detained Shirk after his spouse known as to report that her husband had threatened her life and was planning to assault authorities officers within the nation’s capital.
A nurse who did a psychological analysis of the 71 yr previous after his arrest instructed police Shirk sounded severe when he spoke of killing his spouse and others. If Shirk adopted via together with his plan, she mentioned, “She didn’t need to see it on the information and really feel like she was accountable.”
Shirk, the longtime solicitor for Akron Borough, has been in Franklin County Jail since Jan. 22 with out bail on two counts of terroristic threats. He’s being represented by an lawyer with the Franklin County Public Defender’s workplace, which declined remark; messages left at his Ephrata legislation workplace weren’t returned Monday and Tuesday.
Akron officers lower ties with Shirk at their assembly Monday night time and employed an interim solicitor.
Arrest and analysis
Police in Cornwall, Lebanon County, the place Shirk lives, had issued a bulletin about 8:20 p.m. Jan. 21, based on charging paperwork.
The bulletin was associated to his spouse in search of his involuntary dedication following an argument in regards to the election. It’s not clear from the paperwork when that argument occurred.
State police then pinged Shirk’s cellphone to find out his location and stationed troopers alongside Interstate 81 south to intercept him.
At about 8:25 p.m., police surrounded his silver 2020 Subaru Forester on the Sheetz fuel pumps and took him into custody when he returned to his automobile.
Police took Shirk to WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital for an analysis associated to the involuntary dedication.
When a staffer requested him about hurting somebody, Shirk “made a press release to the impact of that he would kill his spouse, however not at this time” in a monotonous and deadpan tone, based on paperwork.
Shirk instructed a nurse that he deliberate to cease at his son’s home in Alexandria, Virginia, to drop off a gift for his granddaughter. He additionally instructed her “he needed to stand up early sufficient to beat site visitors and make it to the federal government officers’ homes earlier than they left for work within the metropolis,” the doc mentioned.
The nurse instructed police she’d been within the medical discipline greater than 16 years however discovered Shirk’s conduct to be particularly disconcerting
The nurse instructed police “she had a powerful intestine feeling and intuition that this was greater than only a man who was having a foul day and indignant in regards to the election. … Shirk made feedback about capturing authorities officers of their entrance yard. This alongside together with his feedback about not being afraid to die made her afraid.”
The nurse additionally discovered 50, quarter-sized plastic crosses in a bag in Shirk’s briefcase.
“… it was virtually as if Shirk supposed to go away them at his crime scene(s),” the nurse instructed police, based on the paperwork.
The nurse instructed police that she had notified the FBI after coming throughout a to-do record in Shirk’s briefcase and an FBI agent got here to the hospital, based on the doc. On one aspect was a listing detailing actions such because the birthday current, on the opposite aspect was a listing: “Weapons, ammo, ropes, instruments, meds, magazines,” based on the charging doc.
When the trooper requested the nurse if there was anything, she mentioned that whereas the FBI agent was current, Shirk mentioned he didn’t need anybody looking out his cellphone and hoped nobody checked his Amazon account.
An FBI spokeswoman on Tuesday declined remark when requested about its involvement, saying the police charging paperwork converse for themselves.
Shirks’ preliminary listening to is scheduled for Feb. 8 earlier than Chambersburg District Decide Glenn Manns.
Shirk comes from a household with a historical past of neighborhood service and political involvement. His father, K.L. Shirk, who died in 2006, was an lawyer and the lengthy energetic within the county’s Republican get together, serving as chairman of the get together from 1964-71. Shirk’s grandfather was Lancaster County’s district lawyer.
