Man charged after making threatening calls to insurance agency

Published 5:59 pm Wednesday, August 7, 2019

The Smith County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Troup man accused of threatening a local insurance agency office, claiming he would come in with a gun if they did not pay his insurance claim.

On Wednesday the sheriff’s office received a report about a man making threatening phone calls to a local insurance office and the insurance company’s call center, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

A patrol deputy was sent to the insurance office, followed by an investigator from the Criminal Investigation Division.

Deputies were able to identify the number the calls had come from after listening to the messages.

The man suspected of making the threats is Gregory Keith McCleskey, 62, of Troup.

In the messages, McCleskey said he had an AK-47 and the insurance company needed to pay his claim. He also made threats toward the owner of the local insurance agency.

The sheriff’s office obtained a warrant from Judge Kerry Russell of the 7th District Court charging McCleskey with terroristic threat–placing the public in fear of serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony.

Just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, McCleskey was arrested after initially refusing to leave his residence. The sheriff’s office was assisted by the Troup Police Department, Precinct 3 Constable’s Office and the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force.

McCleskey is being held in the Smith County Jail on a $100,000 bond.