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A man accused of shooting at law-enforcement officers and volunteer firefighters during a standoff is scheduled to go on trial Monday in 78th District Court in Wichita Falls.
Anthony Michael Kienlen was indicted on 14 counts of attempted capital murder in an incident that occurred Oct. 13, 2021, in the 5200 block of Turkey Ranch Road west of Wichita Falls, court records show.
Keinlen, 38, was also indicted on charges of deadly conduct/discharge of a firearm and criminal mischief related to the incident, according to court documents.
Kienlen was being held Friday in the Wichita County Jail on $7 million in bonds, online jail records show.
He faces up to life in prison without parole. Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless convicted beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Kienlen is accused of firing on Wichita County deputies, officers from other agencies and firefighters who responded to a call from Kienlen’s wife, who said her husband was trying to kill himself, court records show.
According to allegations in an arrest affidavit:
Court documents say officers in the line of fire during the incident were WCSO officers and personnel from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Archer County Sheriff’s Office and Wichita West Volunteer Fire Department.
Court and jail records show Kienlen was initially jailed in lieu of a total of $7 million bail, but 78th District Court Judge Meredith Kennedy reduced the total to $1.4 million and Kienlen bonded out in November 2022.
Kennedy reinstated the higher bond in September 2024 after Kienlen tested positive for alcohol and a marijuana derivative in violation of his bond conditions, but the judge allowed him to continue treatment at Red River Hospital.
Sheriff David Duke said Kienlen was returned to the Wichita County Jail in September 2024.
Kienlen’s defense attorney, Dustin Nimz, said he expects the trial to last about a week and a half.
Attempted capital murder of a peace officer or a fireman is punishable by up to life in prison. Deadly conduct is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The maximum punishment for a criminal mischief charge is two years in a state jail facility.
In September 2022 Kienlen filed a lawsuit against Wichita County Sheriff David Duke, Texas Ranger Matt Kelly and Justice of the Peace James Hughes for physical and mental anguish, but he withdrew the suit the following December.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Accused of attempting to murder peace officers, Anthony Kienlen to go on trial Monday
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
