Kentucky man admits threatening agent who investigated his son in meth, murder case
The father of a Kentucky man charged with killing a witness in a drug case has admitted threatening the federal agent who investigated his son.
William H. Nantz pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in London to a charge of retaliating against a witness. The target of the threat was Todd E. Tremaine, a senior special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Tremaine investigated Nantz’s son, Daniel Scott Nantz, a Whitley County man charged with killing his girlfriend, Geri Johnson.
Tremaine testified he had interviewed Johnson earlier as police investigated whether Daniel Nantz was involved in methamphetamine trafficking.
Charge: man shot his girlfriend to hide details about meth ring
Johnson had implicated Nantz, and another witness said Nantz suspected Johnson planned to turn herself in on March 17, 2019, and cooperate with authorities, Tremaine testified.
The day before, someone shot Johnson, 29, in the neck and shoulder. Nantz dropped her off at the hospital in Corbin and left, police said at the time.
Doctors could not save Johnson’s life. An autopsy showed she likely choked on her blood, Tremaine testified at one hearing.
Johnson was seven months pregnant, with Nantz purportedly the father of the child. Doctors delivered a baby girl, but she died three days later at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital.
Nantz said Johnson shot herself, but a federal grand jury indicted him on several charges, including that he murdered Johnson to prevent her from giving authorities information about his meth ring.
Father admits he threatened an agent investigating his son
Nantz’s father, William H. Nantz, was in the courtroom when Tremaine testified against Daniel Scott Nantz at an early hearing in the case, according to a court document.
In October 2021, William H. Nantz made a threat toward Tremaine to a neighbor of the agent, according to his plea agreement.
Nantz described Tremaine’s wife, house and vehicle, and told the neighbor he was familiar with the times Tremaine’s family walked their dog.
Nantz said he had watched the area from a vehicle with tinted windows, according to the plea document.
Nantz told the neighbor he had bought four sticks of dynamite “that will do a lot.”
The neighbor, who was not named in court documents, said he implored Nantz to focus on his family, but Nantz said he had recently been hospitalized with COVID-19 and that he would likely die soon.
Nantz said “all he could think about was that he was going to die without doing something about his son’s situation,” according to his plea agreement.
The neighbor called police.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason D. Parman, and William Nantz’s attorney, Andrew L. Sparks, negotiated an agreement for Nantz’s sentence to be between two and a half years and seven years and three months.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier will decide later whether to accept the deal.
Without that agreement, the maximum sentence on the charge would be 20 years. Wier scheduled Nantz to be sentenced in October.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Daniel Scott Nantz. He has pleaded not guilty and the case is pending.
