Kentucky man who threatened agent in drug murder case sentenced to more than 5 years
The father of a Kentucky man facing a federal murder charge has been sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison for threatening an agent who investigated his son.
William Nantz, 64, pleaded guilty to a charge of retaliating against a witness.
Nantz, of Whitley County, is the father of Daniel Scott Nantz, who is charged with killing his girlfriend, Geri Johnson.
Johnson had implicated Daniel Nantz in a methamphetamine ring, according to testimony from Todd E. Tremaine, a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who investigated the case.
Someone shot Johnson in the neck and shoulder in March 2019. Police said Nantz dropped her off at the hospital in Corbin and left.
Johnson died. An autopsy showed she likely choked to death on her blood, Tremaine testified at one hearing.
Johnson was seven months pregnant, with Daniel Nantz believed to be the father. Doctors delivered the baby girl but she died three days later at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital.
A federal grand jury charged that Nantz killed Johnson to keep her from giving police information about his meth trafficking.
William Nantz heard Tremaine testify against his son, according to his plea agreement.
William Nantz admitted that in October 2021, he threatened Tremaine.
Nantz told a neighbor of Tremaine’s that he had watched the area around Tremaine’s home from a vehicle with tinted windows and described the agent’s wife, house and vehicle and the times when Tremaine’s family walked their dog, according to his plea.
Nantz told Tremaine’s neighbor he had bought four sticks of dynamite and said “that will do a lot.”
Nantz told the neighbor he had been hospitalized with COVID-19 and that “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 notified police.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier sentenced William Nantz Tuesday in federal court in London. Nantz had been in custody since he was arrested in November 2021.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Daniel Scott Nantz. He has pleaded not guilty and the case is pending.
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 10:57 AM.
