A Harrogate man has been indicted by the Bell County, Kentucky, Grand Jury on three counts — second-degree terroristic threatening, third-degree terroristic threatening and harassing communications.
David Brandon Luntsford, 36, was arrested on the charges on Sept. 18. Luntsford was booked into the Bell County Detention Center on Sept. 19 and has remained incarcerated since that time, held on a full cash $25,000 bond.
According to earlier reports, Luntsford was arrested after allegedly making threats against a local pastor, church and school on his Facebook page.
According to a press release from the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, Bell County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Dan Tuttle, in cooperation with the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office, arrested Luntsford in September after a complaint was filed by Pastor William Boyd Bingham of Binghamtown Church and Gateway Christian School. Bingham told authorities that he was alerted about threats made against himself, the welfare of the children of the school, the church and its congregation. The alleged threats had reportedly been posted on social media. Additionally, there were reports of alleged threats made against President Barack Obama and Congress. Bingham contacted Bell County Sheriff Mitchell Williams, who in turn contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Tuttle to investigate the credibility of the threat.
The press release said the FBI contacted the Secret Service and with assistance by the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office, made a home visit to Luntsford for questioning. After the visit, the Secret Service determined that they would not press any federal charges against Luntsford, but stated he would be placed on a watch list to monitor his actions.
The press release further stated that after speaking with the county attorney for the legality concerning the threats, Tuttle then contacted the Claiborne sheriff to assist in serving their fugitive from another state (Kentucky) warrant on Luntsford. A search warrant for Luntsford’s laptop, where the threats allegedly originated, was also served. Luntsford waived extradition rights and was brought back to Kentucky on two warrants — second-degree terroristic threatening, a class D felony, and harassing communications, a class B misdemeanor.
Luntsford is due back in court on November 20.
