Parkville man sentenced for threatening judge

PLATTE CITY, Mo. -- A Parkville man was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for telling officers that he was ready to shoot a judge as they were arresting him on suspicion of drunken driving. Brian E. Manges' profanity-laced tirade was captured on a video camera mounted on a squad car. During the March 17 rant, Manges said he would "take out" Platte County Associate Circuit Judge Daniel Czamanske, who was presiding over his divorce. Czamanske also had handled adult-abuse cases involving Manges. Manges was convicted in October of tampering with a judicial officer. Prosecutors sought the seven-year maximum sentence for the crime, noting that Manges was convicted in 1988 for felony battery on a law enforcement officer in Reno, Nev. Manges also was convicted in 1995 of misdemeanor battery for hitting his 13-year-old child.

"If you don't like a judge's ruling, you have the right to appeal," Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said in a news release. "But you don't have the right to say you'll shoot the judge, just because you may be frustrated with the way your case is going. I will do everything in my power to put anyone who threatens a judge behind bars and keep him there."

At Manges' trial in October, defense attorney Mike Reardon told jurors that Manges was just a drunk, angry man and did not purposely threaten the judge.