Man accused in kidnapping of Finney County judge, wife

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed terrorism charges Tuesday against a man who allegedly held a state judge and his wife at gunpoint for hours in Garden City last week.

Jason Linn Nichols, 33, is charged with one count of terrorism by alternative means, one count of kidnapping, one count of aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of criminal threat and one count of criminal restraint, Schmidt announced in a news release Wednesday. Nichols is being held in lieu of $1.3 million bond.

Nichols is due in Finney County District Court for a first appearance at 1 p.m. June 15.

Nichols is accused of forcing himself into Finney County Chief Judge Wendel Wurst’s house at about 7 a.m. May 31 and holding him and his wife, Rhonda Wurst, hostage because he was upset over a child custody matter. Nichols released Rhonda Wurst a short time later; she ran to a neighbor’s house and called police. He surrendered later that day.

Prosecutors, in a criminal complaint, allege Nichols was trying to either “influence government policy” through intimidation or coercion or to affect “the operation of any unit of government.” They also say he threatened the couple with a .45-caliber semiautomatic gun, saying “no I’m not going to (shoot you) unless I am forced to” on at least one occasion, the complaint says.

A terrorism conviction carries a presumptive sentence of life in prison, Schmidt said.

Wurst, 61, was appointed a district judge in 2004. His wife is 62.

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Man accused in kidnapping of Finney County judge, wife."