LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The family of a man police say was stopped with body armor and a small arsenal as he was allegedly on his way to kill them in Oldham County insists he never would have harmed them.

In a court hearing in June, Kenneth Gregory's father and stepmother testified he only had the weapons on him because he had just come from a shooting range.

They had taken out a mental inquest warrant against Gregory to get him help as he had been suicidal.

"I didn't believe for a minute Kenny was going to hurt anybody but himself," Kenneth Gregory Sr. testified June 1, according to a recording of the hearing. "We were more concerned for his safety than anything."

Attorney Robin Bennett argued in a motion filed last week that Gregory has no criminal history, including even a minor traffic offense, and the $100,000 bail is "excessive to ensure his appearance at court and the continued safety of the public."

A bond hearing is scheduled in Oldham Circuit Court on Thursday. 

She has argued that Oldham County police should have taken Gregory to a mental health hospital instead of arresting him on four charges of attempted murder. She had family members testify in court that he was only a danger to himself. 

"What was supposed to happen that night was that Kenny was taken into custody and brought to a hospital and given the opportunity to get help," she said in a previous court hearing. 

Oldham County Police have argued they prevented a mass shooting when Gregory was stopped after threatening to kill his family.

The prosecution has indicated the bond needs to be higher. 

Police stopped Gregory near a family member's home on May 20 armed with a loaded AK-47 and a 9mm handgun, as well as several loaded AK-47 magazines and 9mm magazines — a total of about 400 rounds of ammunition — and body armor in the truck.

When Kenneth Gregory Sr. learned his son had been arrested, he said he felt "deceived" by police.

"They kept saying, 'we need your help to help your son," Kenneth Gregory Sr. said, adding it was "ludicrous" to charge him with four counts of attempted murder.

But Officer Alexander Sattich testified on June 1 that Gregory indicated that the mental inquest warrant would not stop him from killing someone.

"I'm very confused on your all's opinion on the mental health crisis," Gregory told Oldham County Police, according to body camera footage. "You can't really stop someone from committing an act of violence. You could take my weapons, but I could always rent a U-Haul and load it with explosives like (Oklahoma City bomber) Timothy McVeigh. It's the will to do harm against your own people that is the problem."

Gregory also asked police whether they worked Louisville's most recent mass shooting at Old National Bank on April 10.

In addition, Bennett's step-mother acknowledged that Gregory has "bragged about becoming the most prolific mass murderer" and "made threats to shoot a school bus full of children."

And prosecutors played a voicemail from Gregory to his father. "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill your wife. I'm going to kill your **** family. … And I'm on the way to do so right now," according to the audio.

A body cam video played during the June hearing showed Gregory's step-sister in hysterics about the threats to kill her and other family members. 

In a call Gregory made from jail, that was played during the hearing, he told his father he was on suicide watch "because of you." His father said "you want to kill your family, what the **** is wrong with you? ... You need to quit blaming us for your decisions in life." 

Sattich said Gregory had "motive and intent" to carry out the murders and had specifically said he was going to kill his step-sister. 

Gregory's stepmother, Christine, testified she never feared Gregory would hurt the family after they got into an argument on May 20. She said she called police "to get him help," adding that he has refused to get mental health treatment in the past.

"He's threatened to kill us before, but never acted on them," Christine Gregory said.

She said she asked police why they didn't just take Gregory to the hospital but was not given an answer.

And Christine Gregory testified that he had all of the weapons in his vehicle because he had been at the Knob Creek Gun Range.

Gregory's father, Kenneth Gregory Sr., also testified that his son had been at a "shooting class" on May 20 and they had invited him to dinner before he became angry and they asked him to leave.

Kenneth Gregory, with tears in his eyes, said his son told him so many times he didn't want to live that he became immune to it.

"I should have done more," he testified.

Still, Gregory's father acknowledged that his son FaceTime called him from his home in Louisville that night while loading weapons "and he was like 'watch me now old man' BS he does when he gets angry."

Under cross-examination, Gregory's father admitted writing in the mental inquest warrant that his son "wants to die suicide by cop" and "he is too dangerous to be in society at this time."

The prosecutor also noted he was near his step-sister's home with firearms after he had already gone home – meaning he had to take the guns out of his vehicle and then put them back.

"He just wanted me to see it," Kenneth Gregory Sr. said.

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