By Rose Gruenbacher
After less than an hour of deliberation, a Riley County District Court jury found Andrew Trevor Birrell guilty of criminal threat.
County attorney Barry Wilkerson said in his final address to the jury that threats made in a letter to Father James Buster were not veiled, but clearly intended to create fear.
He went on to say Birrell, 35, had an antagonistic relationship with Buster and would’ve clarified the gun he mentioned having in the letter was a BB gun if he didn’t wish to convey a threat. Wilkerson additionally referenced specific passages of the letter instructing Buster to take “one last walk” and quoted, “I will kill you.”
