A 60-year-old Penn Township man is facing a criminal charge after he allegedly told staff inside the Penn Township Tax Collector's office that he'd “go on a rampage” if he owned a gun, all while paying his school property taxes. Michael Timothy Conrad was arraigned Wednesday on a first-degree misdemeanor charge of terroristic threats, according to charging documents.
According to The Evening Sun, Conrad visited the tax office at 20 Wayne Avenue within the Penn Township Municipal Offices to pay his school taxes when he allegedly threatened to shoot everyone in the office. Witnesses told police Conrad complained that he had to pay for his neighbors' children to attend school despite not having any children of his own, and that people in the office were visibly shaken by his remarks.
Conrad is accused of telling staff, “I'm glad I don't have a gun, or I would go on a rampage,” and separately saying, “Thank God, that's why I don't own a gun.” He also reportedly said, “God, I'm glad I don't own a gun,” and told those present that he was “60 years old and half dead,” and that his “body was about done and he was over with,” per the charging documents cited by the paper.
Threats Escalated to 'Going Postal' Language
Conrad allegedly went further, saying, “If one day anyone ever goes postal in Hanover, it'll probably be me,” and adding that he'd “ever just go postal from all this crap.” The phrase itself has a grim origin — it dates back to a series of workplace shootings by U.S. Postal Service employees in the late 1980s and 1990s, beginning with the August 1986 shooting in Edmond, Oklahoma, that left 14 workers dead, according to Wikipedia.
Conrad later described his remarks as “just venting,” the newspaper's reporting shows. But according to the affidavit, he also told officers he felt suicidal when tax-office staff greeted him — a detail investigators included among the statements that led to his arrest.
Why the Charge Stayed a Misdemeanor
Under Pennsylvania Title 18 Section 2706, a first-degree misdemeanor terroristic threats charge carries a statutory maximum of up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to a legal explainer from The McShane Firm. The charge can escalate to a third-degree felony if the threat causes an evacuation or seriously disrupts operations at a public building, per Pennsylvania's consolidated statutes.
Conrad was released on $75,000 unsecured bail. His attorney information was not available in the case file, and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 1 before a magisterial district judge — the stage at which prosecutors must show sufficient evidence for the case to move to the Court of Common Pleas.
A Familiar Flashpoint at the Tax Office
The timing of Conrad's visit lines up with Penn Township's school tax billing cycle; property owners there receive their school tax bills in July and can pay at a discount through September 30. The office where the alleged threat occurred is overseen by elected tax collector Robin Hoke and operates out of Suite 3 at the municipal building.
The South Western School District's general fund budget and local property-tax millage remain part of the broader discussion over school funding. Property taxes remain the primary funding source for Pennsylvania's public schools, a structure that continues to fuel statewide debate over shifting toward income or sales tax funding instead. Older homeowners with limited income can apply for relief through the state's Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program, which offers rebates between $380 and $1,000 for eligible residents 65 and older earning $48,110 or less. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program lists maximum rebates of $1,000 for incomes of $0 - $8,550, $770 for $8,551 - $16,040, and $460 for $16,041 - $19,240.
Hoodline has also covered a York Haven man charged after a tool dispute turned violent.
