Monessen woman accused of threatening judge, children's bureau arrested in Washington, D.C.

A Monessen woman charged this month with threatening Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau employees and now accused of threatening a Westmoreland County judge has been arrested in Washington, D.C., police say.

Precious L. Gantt, 39, was arrested by the Metro Police Department after it received a copy of a warrant obtained by Allegheny County detectives in a separate case.

She was taken into custody without incident after being charged Tuesday with making terroristic threats and retaliation against a judicial official in two Westmoreland cases.

County detectives said a court reporter contacted them after Gantt made phone calls May 18 and Monday to Judge Justin Walsh’s chambers. During the calls, police said, Gantt threatened to kill the judge, his family and others if he terminated her parental rights.

Walsh presided over a custody case involving Gantt, according to court papers.

In the previous criminal case, Gantt is accused of leaving voicemails and making phone calls threatening to kill anyone at the children’s bureau who has been involved in her supervision. She has been under the bureau’s supervision since 2021, according to court papers.

Gantt also is facing charges in Monessen for threatening police there, as well as charges in Allegheny County.

She was sentenced in July 2021 to 11 to 23 months in jail in connection with threats made to the Westmoreland County Emergency Operations Center in August 2020.

Investigators said she made 16 phone calls to Westmoreland 911 over a nine-hour period, sometimes yelling at the call taker and using derogatory language toward police officers.