Mike Urban: Man sentenced for threatening to kill 2 Berks judges and his child's mother

May 23—A New York City man charged with threatening to kill two Berks County judges and the mother of his child has been sentenced after pleading guilty to four counts of making terroristic threats.

Tyrel Smith, 29, was sentenced to eight to 23 months in the county prison followed by four years of probation.

He had entered a non-negotiated plea, meaning he admitted to committing the crimes but did not agree with prosecutors on a sentence.

His sentence was determined on May 18 by Senior Judge Robert J. Eby from Lebanon County, who presided over the case when all Berks judges recused themselves.

Last year, Smith threatened to kill his child's mother on multiple occasions, then threatened to shoot courthouse personnel and inside the courtrooms of two judges, prosecutors said.

Berks detectives did not name the judges who were threatened.

According to detectives:

The spouse of a county judge received a threatening phone call at the couple's home on Nov. 9 at 12:39 p.m. from Smith, who complained that his court case was taking too long and said that he knew their address.

The spouse immediately contacted the judge's law clerk to report the incident, and court administration was alerted.

Smith later called the court administration office and left two threatening messages.

In the first message, Smith named two Berks judges and threatened that he was "going to be like a school shooter in the courtroom." He said he had a 9 mm Ruger and "will shoot the person at the front door and work his way up to the courtroom."

Smith said "the next scene is murder."

In the second message, Smith said he did not believe in the judicial system. He said he was not trying to kill anyone, but added that if he must murder someone to get his message across, he would.

He said he had never hunted humans, but he was ready for it.

During the second message, Smith threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and mentioned a case that was pending in county court. He also provided his address in the Bronx and suggested law enforcement come to his front door.

Detectives identified Smith as the caller and learned he was scheduled to appear for arraignment in Berks County Court the next morning on charges of making terroristic threats and harassment, which were filed by Reading police.

Based on the evidence found during the investigation, District Judge Brian Strand issued an arrest warrant for Smith, and detectives contacted the Berks sheriff's office seeking help to locate and apprehend Smith in New York.

Members of the U.S. Marshals Service apprehended Smith at his apartment without incident.