Kline’s Office Goes On Trial

The credibility of Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline‘s office was on trial earlier today, and, in District Judge Thomas Bornholdt‘s eyes, the dispute breaks down to one key question: Is it a crime to scare an employee of the district attorney’s office with a gun?

The question follows an April 2 incident at the Stilwell home of Theodore Herzog. Herzog was cleaning his pistol and shotgun when Tom Williams, an investigator with Kline’s office, showed up in his driveway that night.

The DA’s office had dispatched Williams to Herzog’s residence to subpoena Brandy Cox as a witness in a drunken-driving case.

Williams, who was dressed in business-casual clothes, drove an unmarked Ford Escape up the long driveway to Herzog’s home. He wasn’t wearing an identifiable uniform, nor did he have credentials identifying himself as an investigator with the DA’s office.

As Williams approached, he could see lights on in the brick house.