A man is now in custody following an incident at a local church.
According to APD, on Sunday morning, an off-duty officer working security at a local church discovered a man who was acting suspiciously and making comments to the pastor about the ability to bring firearms into the church. The suspicious male left the scene before the officer made contact, but the officer was able to reach the male by phone. The officer was able to confirm the conservation had taken place between the subject, Kevin Winkle, 52, and the pastor. Winkle reportedly told the officer that he was en route to the church on the St. Mary’s Academy property to work as an usher. Due to statements made during the conversation, the officer reached out to St. Mary’s to alert them of Winkle’s possible presence on the property.
Authorities say staff at St. Mary’s were aware of Winkle due to an incident that occurred on September 5th. Winkle showed up for training to possibly become an usher and during the training, Winkle allegedly displayed a rifle he was carrying in a violin case, along with three handguns that were in his possession. St. Mary’s had hired an APD officer for off-duty security, who was alerted to Winkle’s presence.
The off-duty officer observed Winkle and saw that he had a firearm in a holster on his waist. The officer also located two other firearms and several magazines of ammunition in Winkle’s pockets. The St. Mary’s property is cohabited by the church and the school, so Winkle was placed under arrest for Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon in Prohibited Places. Officers also found two rifles with multiple rounds of ammunition during an inventory search of Winkle’s vehicle. The rifles were stored in separate violin cases.
Winkle was arrested on September 9th and booked into the Potter County Detention Center. On September 12th, a separate warrant was issue for the arrest of Winkle out of Potter County on a charge of Exhibition, Use, or Threat of Exhibition or Use of Firearms. Winkle was located in the 8100 block of Challenge and was taken into custody.
For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/AmarilloPolice.
Winkle