Man pleads guilty in Sedgwick County Courthouse threat case

A 22-year-old man charged with criminal threat for suggesting an attack on the Sedgwick County Courthouse in late July has pleaded guilty in the case.

Samuel McCrory appeared before Sedgwick County District Judge Bruce Brown on Thursday and pleaded guilty to one count of criminal threat and three counts of criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, said Dan Dillon, spokesman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped six other counts of criminal possession of a firearm.

Brown ordered McCrory to surrender his guns and to enter an anger management program, Dillon said. He will be sentenced Dec. 1.

McCrory’s plea comes within days of his jury trial. It was scheduled to start Monday.

McCrory was arrested on July 30 in response to Facebook posts that asked whether it was “out of line to storm the courthouse” and suggested the “only way to defend yourself from a cop is to kill the cop” if a guilty verdict came down in the felony murder trial of Kyler Carriker.

Following his arrest, local authorities discovered McCrory had a juvenile felony conviction from Rice County in 2008, which carries with it a 10-year ban on possessing a gun. McCrory had been seen multiple times since July 1, 2014, toting a rifle, a handgun and an ax tucked into his waistband at protests and other events around Wichita, prompting complaints to law enforcement.

Authorities had told callers McCrory was exercising his right to openly carry his weapon. But the juvenile conviction meant he was actually breaking the law, Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter told The Eagle in response to questions about McCrory’s conviction.

Six of McCrory’s charges for criminal possession of a firearm stem from the public sightings. The other three are linked to the handgun found in his waistband when he was arrested by deputies and the shotgun and rifle found at his home, according to information from law enforcement and court records.

Under the state’s sentencing guidelines, a conviction for criminal threat carries a penalty of up to 17 months in prison, or probation, depending on a person’s prior criminal history. A conviction for criminal possession of a firearm carries a prison term of up to 23 months or probation.

McCrory remains in Sedgwick County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bond.

This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 7:21 AM with the headline "Man pleads guilty in Sedgwick County Courthouse threat case."