MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie man will spend four years behind bars for threatening a magistrate with a gun and saying he would blow up her home if she didn't reunite his kids with his family.
John Armstrong, 38, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in May to one felony count of intimidation.
Court documents say in an April 2021 meeting with a case manager, who was working to help Armstrong get his kids back, Armstrong said, "If that judge doesn't move my kids with my family, I will blow up her house."
The case manager warned Armstrong not to speak like that and he replied with, "It's not like I have C-4 or anything" then began laughing. That's when the case manager reiterated that Armstrong can't say things like that and asked him and his wife to leave the property.
The case manager reported the incident to the magistrate, Amanda Yonally, who called police to make a report in case anything happened.
Yonally told police that during multiple Zoom meetings with Armstrong, he had a handgun in plain sight on the table.
Documents say, "with everything going on and then the threats," Yonally believed Armstrong was trying to use his gun as a threat as well and she feared he might follow through.
Police were able to get video evidence of one of those Zoom meetings. In the video, documents say, Armstrong was sitting in a car and pulled out a handgun then pointed it out the window.
Yonally asked Armstrong if he had a gun and he replied, "No, I don't believe in guns. Guns kill people." He then held up a phone as if that was what he pointed. However, police say after reviewing the video they could confirm he was "clearly" pointing a gun out the window. Documents describe the gun as a black Glock handgun.
Armstrong was arrested on April 30, 2021. In an interview with police, he denied threatening to blow up Yonally's house and denied having a gun. Police showed Armstrong a photo of him holding the gun during the Zoom meeting and he claimed it was a BB gun.
