A former Weld County prosecutor who allegedly left a phone message threatening to burn his ex-supervisor “to the ground” has been arrested in Texas, authorities say.
Daniel Wingler, 29, a former Weld County deputy district attorney, was being held Tuesday in a Texas jail on $175,000 bond pending extradition.
He was arrested Nov. 22 in Harlingen, Texas, for investigation of felony menacing and threatening a peace officer, according to Weld County court records.
The records say Wingler told an officer in March that he was having rage issues related to a marijuana bust in late 2005 and that he felt the Weld County district attorney’s office was making an example of him.
He allegedly told police then that he was having fantasies “about going postal and killing everyone over there,” court records say.
Jennifer Finch, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said Tuesday that Wingler worked there from January 2002 to February 2004. She declined to say why he left the office.
In the latest case, Greeley police alleged in court documents that Wingler called from a phone in Harlingen and left a message with a top Weld County prosecutor at her office in Greeley on Nov. 8. The prosecutor supervised Wingler from February 2003 to January 2004.
In the message, Wingler allegedly screamed slurs at his former boss and vowed to burn her “to the ground,” court records said.
In November 2005, Greeley police said they found dozens of marijuana plants in Wingler’s apartment, court records said. When interviewed, Wingler told officers he did not live in the apartment. That case is pending.
Wingler was contacted by a Westminster police officer in March 2006 at a medical clinic “because he was displaying suicidal/homicidal behavior,” court records said. It was then that Wingler allegedly made the comment about “going postal.”
He was placed on a mental-health “hold” because of the incident, court records said. He apparently later left the state.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
