Man charged in Clay County with threatening to kill municipal judge, his ‘whole family’

A 36-year-old man is accused of threatening to kill a Gladstone municipal judge and his entire family following an arraignment on Monday.

Salvatore Forte, whose last listed address was in Kansas City, was charged Tuesday with a single count of tampering with a judicial officer, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison under Missouri law. He is currently being held in the Clay County jail on a $50,000 bond.

According to court records, Forte was being held at the Gladstone city jail beginning Sunday on suspicion of setting fire to property behind a business. The Gladstone judge, whose name was withheld in the court record, arrived at the jail’s booking area and asked officers to remove Forte from his cell so that criminal charges could be read to him.

After the arraignment, Forte allegedly told the judge: “I’m going to kill your whole family.”

A detective wrote in charging documents that Forte was uncooperative with officers during his incarceration in Gladstone. The detective also noted that Forte was on parole at the time for an earlier felony assault case.

Court records did not list an attorney for Forte as of Tuesday evening.