A Nebraska man appeared before a federal magistrate in Nebraska Tuesday on charges stemming from an alleged effort to break one man out of jail, and arrest the local sheriff and a judge.
Federal investigators say the two officials were to have been taken to Canada to face criminal charges in the courts of a non-existent nation in British Columbia.
Acting U.S. Attorney Robert C. Stuart said Anthony Todd Weberka, 54, of Arapahoe, Nebraska was charged in a federal indictment with Misprision of a Felony. The indictment unsealed this week alleges that Weverka knew of the plot and failed to disclose the information to authorities. He faces up to three years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both, Stuart said.
According to the indictment, Weverka served as the President of the Arapahoe Airport Board. In that capacity, he met an individual, referred to in the indictment as “M.P.”, who flew a plane to the airport and asked to spend the night on the premises. The man was a fugitive from justice after having failed to appear for trial on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm in Tipton County, Tennessee. The indictment also alleges the man represented himself to be an ambassador and associate chief justice of the Chilcotin Nation in British Columbia, Canada. The man was arrested at the airport by federal, state and local law enforcement authorities.
Following his arrest, M.P. was transported to the Furnas County Jail in Beaver City, Nebraska, where he was held pending extradition to the State of Tennessee. Another individual, referred to as “S.H.” in the indictment, allegedly held herself out as the Chief Justice of the Universal Supreme Court of the Tshilhqot’in Nation, a self-proclaimed body purporting to represent the “country” of Chilcotin. Authorities say she issued orders demanding the release of M.P., and when her court “orders” were ignored, the indictment alleges she contacted a bounty hunter in New Orleans, Louisiana. Stuart said she offered to pay to have the bounty hunter break M.P. out of jail, arrest the Sheriff of Furnas County and the presiding Judge in Tipton County, Tennessee, and transport all of them to Canada where the Sheriff and Judge would face purported criminal charges.
The indictment alleges Weverka learned of the plot to take the Sheriff of Furnas County into custody and did not immediately disclose the same to law enforcement authorities. It further alleges Weverka spoke repeatedly with the woman in Canada holding herself out as the Chief Justice of the USCTN and, further, that he supplied the home address of the Sheriff to her. After learning of the plot, it is alleged Weverka warned the Sheriff that his life might be in danger but did not disclose his full knowledge of the planned abduction. The indictment alleges Weverka committed the crime of Misprision of Felony by concealing the crime through false statements, omissions of material facts and continuing to provide assistance to those whom he believed were involved.
In a separate indictment, Michael Wayne Parsons, age 55 of Arlington, Tennessee, is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Specifically, it alleges Parsons, after conviction of the felony offense of aggravated assault on November 23, 2009, in the Circuit Court of Tipton County, Tennessee, was located in Nebraska on January 11, 2017, while in possession of a Rock River 5.56 LAR-15 assault rifle and 637 rounds of ammunition. The charge carries a possible penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine or both. Parsons is currently in custody in the State of Tennessee awaiting trial of other charges.