Local Constable Charged With Making Terroristic Threats

Keith Heffintrayer•

Handcuffs.

A constable assigned to Lansdale’s Ward 3-3 is facing a pair of charges after he allegedly called borough officials and threatened to shoot a tenant that he was struggling to evict.

John Kinkaid, 69, of Lansdale, is charged with one misdemeanor count of making terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another, and one misdemeanor count of harassment, in connection with a voicemail that he allegedly left with Lansdale Borough Code Enforcement around 1 p.m. on Nov. 19.

According to the criminal complaint, the incident began when the tenant contacted code enforcement to report that her apartment had no heat, which prompted an official with code enforcement to reach out to Kinkaid via phone. Kinkaid then allegedly responded by leaving a voicemail with the official, expressing his frustration with trying to evict the tenant, saying he had taken her to court five times and lost every time.

Kinkaid then continued the voicemail, allegedly threatening "to go downstairs and put bullets up through the floor,” adding that he had already informed Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine and Lansdale Borough Police Chief Michael Trail that they were "going to find bloodshed.”

The report adds that there had been a prior incident between Kinkaid and a family member of the tenant on Feb. 13, 2018, which involved "pushing, shoving and firearms.” No charges were filed in connection with that disturbance, but the report noted that Kinkaid may own several firearms.

As a result of the voicemail, Kinkaid was arrested and charged on Nov. 20, and was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of 10 percent of $5,000 bail, set by Judge Levine. Kinkaid bailed himself out the following day.

"[Our] investigation is ongoing, but at this time, we believe it to be an isolated incident between Kinkaid and the victim,” said Chief Trail. "There is no threat to the community.”

Kinkaid initially had a preliminary hearing in front of Judge Levine scheduled for Dec. 3 at 10 a.m., but the case was transferred to another court on Nov. 27 following a recusal from Judge Levine.

Records indicate that Kinkaid was elected as constable in 2015, and is currently halfway through a six year term. Though he can still carry a firearm and badge, he is not allowed to perform any court or law enforcement duties as his certification with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency expired at the beginning of 2018.

(Editor's note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)