Atlantic City Firefighter in KY. Jail on Threat Charge
A firefighter will appear today in court in Kentucky on charges connected with terroristic threats that culminated in a school lockdown in Atlantic City.
Robert Wenzel, 42, of Galloway Township, was arrested in Winchester, Ky., Monday night, the same day Galloway police issued the warrant for terroristic threats, according to Galloway police Capt. William Hambrecht.....Continue Reading
The threats were directed at a teacher who works at Chelsea Heights School in Atlantic City, but was off campus Monday in protective custody, according to Atlantic City School District Superintendent Fred Nickles.
As a precaution, the school entered a lockdown for the entire school day, 8:45 am. to 2:45 p.m., Monday and canceled outside and after-school activities, Nickles said.
Wenzel joined the Atlantic City Fire Department Jan. 8, 2001, according to personnel records.
But he had been out of work for about a year, Fire Chief Dennis Brooks said Tuesday.
"We had some issues with him on duty, and we forced him to get treatment for those issues," Brooks said.
He would not say what those issues were, citing privacy laws.
Doctors cleared Wenzel to return to the firehouse Feb. 18, "but he never showed," Brooks said.
Termination papers had been filed.
"I guess you're innocent until proven guilty. Departmental charges are secondary to whatever he's got as far as violation of the law," Brooks said.
Brooks said he received a call Monday night informing him that police had found Wenzel in Kentucky.
Wenzel was booked at 8:47 p.m. Monday at the Clark County Detention Center, according to jail personnel.
Winchester police arrested him after they responded to a minor car accident in a shopping center parking lot. They charged Wenzel with leaving the scene of an accident, careless driving and carrying a concealed weapon - the shotgun he was carrying in his pickup, according to Winchester police Chief Kevin Palmer.
Wenzel told police he had been drinking and smelled of alcohol. He was not charged with drunken driving because he refused a blood test and the breath test failed, Palmer said. That can happen due to an internal glitch or complications stemming from someone having an excessive blood-alcohol content or a pre-existing medical condition such as diabetes, he said.
Wenzel also told officers he did not know he was in Kentucky, according to Palmer. It is unclear why he went there.
This is the third arrest of an Atlantic City firefighter in less than six months.
Firefighter William Case Jr., 25, was arrested Sept. 24 on charges of child luring and endangering the welfare of a child when he allegedly tried to meet up for sex with a 14-year-old girl he met online. "She" was really an investigator.
About a week later, Fire Capt. Adrian Wilson, 47, was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting two juveniles for more than a year. A grand jury indicted him on 10 charges, including aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated criminal sexual contact.
E-mail Lynda Cohen: LCohen@pressofac.com
E-mail Emily Previti: EPreviti@pressofac.com
This story was taken from the news source stated above. It is not the opinion of The Elwood Vol. Fire Company or it's members.
