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April 6, 2011 in City
Shawn Vestal: Shoplifting sentence puts eye on prosecutors
Justice is blind, they say. And sometimes it’s dumb.
Take the case of the $163 shoplifter and the 799-day prosecution. The overworked Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office overcharged a young woman and then appealed when a judge didn’t throw her in our overcrowded jail.
The woman, Kristin Bell, spent a night in jail – in addition to the larger punishments that came with a felony conviction, such as giving up her dream to be a school teacher, losing the right to vote, etc. When Judge Tari Eitzen decided that was enough and gave Bell 30 hours of community service – instead of three to nine months in jail – the overworked prosecutor’s office appealed. The state Court of Appeals sent the case back to Eitzen for a fuller justification for giving Bell a sentence below the state’s standard sentencing range.
On March 10, Eitzen stuck to her original sentence, and carefully justified it in the legal terms the appeals court sought. In the process, she made a smart case that this has been, top to bottom, a dumb case.
“The decision is not difficult,” she said, according to a court transcript. “What bothers me about this case is how the system went awry.”
The initial dumbness belongs to Bell, of course. She admits it, and she’s paid a high price. As an Eastern Washington University student in 2008, she stuffed a canvas bag with items from the Ben Franklin in Cheney and walked out.
“I am sorry,” she told Eitzen. “It makes me feel so pathetic thinking about how I ruined my own chances of a successful teaching career that I once dreamed of for so long. Because of this one insurmountable mistake, and not just for the loss of a longtime job, I have come face to face with the hardships of trying to find another with a felony on my record. … My hope is you understand that nothing is more of a punishment and nothing would impact me more than what I have already lost and how difficult life will continue to be just being a convicted felon.”
I’m no lawyer, but by any normal person’s definition, what Bell did was shoplift. Under the law, that’s misdemeanor theft – up until the point there is some “use or threatened use of immediate force, violence or fear of injury,” at which point it becomes robbery.
On the day of Bell’s mistake, a store manager followed her and confronted her in the parking lot, where the two bumped into each other.
It was a costly, costly bump.
The difference between theft and robbery in this case is the difference between a gross misdemeanor and a Class B felony. Between relatively minor and relatively major. Between being a voter and being disenfranchised. Between a judge having discretion to sentence you to anything from a year in jail to community service and a sentencing guideline that seeks three to nine months in jail on a first offense.
The contact in this case was minor, and may have been instigated in part by the store manager. None of this is to excuse Bell or to ignore the fact that prosecutors may have had a strictly legal case – it’s only to point out that the “force” that turned this into felony second-degree robbery was questionable, at best.
Eitzen has been a longstanding opponent of the state’s “sentencing guidelines” – the one-size-fits-all sentencing ranges that replaced judicial discretion in Washington some 30 years ago. In her remarks upon sentencing Bell a second time, she argued that the guidelines tie judges’ hands – which gives added strength to the winds of prosecutorial discretion.
“(T)he prosecutor, you all in this room are acutely aware now, is the one who decides what crime to charge,” she said. “They decide which crime to pursue vigorously and which crimes to plead down and let fall by the wayside. And there are many of those. They decide who gets their attention, which of the criminals are most nefarious, which ones deserve to be prosecuted most vigorously.”
“Now, I don’t know why the prosecutor’s office chose to put an inordinate amount of energy and time and taxpayer money into prosecuting Ms. Bell,” she continued later. “I don’t know that. Maybe they know things I don’t know. A lot of times they do. A lot of times the judge doesn’t get the whole story. But nobody has told me anything pursuant to the sentencing that makes any of this make sense.”
Deputy Prosecutor Jack Driscoll said his office tried to charge the case fairly based on the facts, and offered a no-jail plea deal before trial – though it was still a felony. The decision to appeal was “fairly standard,” he said, and based on the feeling that Eitzen hadn’t properly justified her decision, which the appeals court agreed with.
When I asked him why the office had seemed overzealous about this case, given all the overwork and overcrowding in the system, he reminded me that it was Bell, after all, who started this.
Which is true. And which isn’t really the point.
“If anybody … thinking of committing any kind of theft were to see this case, this is the biggest deterrent I could think of,” Eitzen said. “(Bell) has lost four years of education. She can’t get a job. Nobody will let her live in their home. How much worse could it get? If this doesn’t deter somebody from committing theft, there is nothing that can deter somebody from committing theft. To put her in jail at $125 a day to the taxpayers for 90 days only compounds what’s happened here in this case. I, for the life of me, cannot see how that helps anybody.”
Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or shawnv@spokesman.com.
The draw of the unknowable 
ChefGus/ John Olsen on April 06 at 5:05 a.m.
Thank you for this fine article. It is another area of our justice system that could of course use some help and better direction.
I am simply asking the question: “What would Frank Malone suggest?” The voters of this County did not pay attention to the difficulties underlined by the several Republican candidates that were credible in pointing out Mr Tucker’s shortcomings. We are seeing now that voting for a party affiliation and ideology sometimes does not make good sense.
The third leg of the law enforcement stool is short enough to make the person sitting on it tip over to the ground if he/she tries to sit on it and remain balanced. John
lewis8457 on April 06 at 7:12 a.m.
this young ladies life is on the skids for stealing 100 dollars worth of junk.
While Officer Thompson pulls in 91 grand a year after beating a disabled man to death. And his family gets no justice.
tomnsahl on April 06 at 8:28 a.m.
Great article! Judge Eitzen is a fair and practical jurist who has a proven record of thoughtful decisions. By any measure the case was overcharged and resources were wasted. Jack knows that, but his role as the spokesperson for the office, combined with his personal integrity leaves him looking like he is holding the bag, sadly.
It would have been interesting to see how something like this and other issues in the Prosecutor’s Office WOULD HAVE changed, but the voters saw a familiar name and now we’ll have to wait.
Why bring the Thompson matter up? Oh wait, there is THAT windbaggery again … sigh!
Ninch on April 06 at 8:32 a.m.
Please read the “Mismeasure of Man” by Stephen Gould about sentencing guidelines (Note that this book was first published in 1981 by a self-described liberal.) Yes, the liberals want to have the freedom to ignore “sentencing guideline” and customize the sentence depending on the unique qualities (inherited) and experience (environment) of each person…yet history and statistics show that without sentencing guidelines, racism and bias become major factors that cut both ways.
Yes, liberals practice racism (Gould calls it “soft” racism as opposed to directly expressed racism.) For example, soft racism is present when the liberal elite in power consider others not like themselves to be less intelligent… and thus instead of empowering the others to take personal and group responsibility, the elite practice social engineering from their perch on high looking down at the less fortunate. Sound familiar?
It was great that Eitzen could justify her sentencing for this single parent mother who happened to be white and attending EWU, but does one really think that a young black male would have gotten the same sentence, or that the parking lot incident would have been described as a “bump?” Doubtful. Or it could work the other way, a judge could bend over backwards to “help” a person who is the “victim” of reduced intelligence/perceived opportunity (genetics/race) and/or his/her environment (poverty) and thus will receive a comparatively lighter sentence. In both cases, the elite in power want to be able to make variable (racist/biased) decisions because they believe their high intellect gives them the right to do so… and that is why we now have “sentencing guidelines” instead of wide open personal discretion by the judges… in other words sentencing guidelines are meant to provide “equity.”
bszottlinger on April 06 at 9:49 a.m.
The power of prosecutorial discretion, so important yet so misunderstood. Thank you for a fine piece Mr. Vestal.
Mr. Driscoll, there is no question Ms. Bell is to blame for starting the fight, the question is with the power vested in you is it ethical and moral to kick her in the head when she is down simply to send a message to Judge Eitzen?
DickAdams on April 06 at 10:07 a.m.
The writer, Mr. Vestal, did an excellent job with his story. Unless it is a horrific crime, all the people should try to emphasize with a young persons first time crime and not render a life time sentence. The young lady has paid the price and further sentencing by the judge is not warranted.
Judge Eitzen in opinion, did the right thing.
Ron_the_Cop on April 06 at 10:10 a.m.
Chef Gus,
Yep - something sounds fishy to me too after seeking filings in hundreds if not thousands of similar cases as a career detective. From the judge’s ruling and comments I’m guessing there were no significant priors that would have factored in how the prosecutor’s office filed this case. Why this case? Looks like a waste of criminal justice resources.
BTW where’s the invisible Mr. Tucker? I too voted for Frank Malone. Why is Jack Driscoll the front man on this case on behalf of the Office. Cat got Tucker’s tongue or was he is as usual unavailable for public comment?
My sources say if someone were to tail Mr. Tucker on any given a day an answer may become apparent. My sources may be exaggerating a bit but I would challenge all local law enforcement officers if they should encounter Mr. Tucker during their routine patrols they should treat Mr. Tucker no differently than any other citizen. Just like the Idaho officer recently did as reported in this S-R article. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!
Be sure to read the article comment thread:
Spokane Co. deputy arrested for drunken driving in CdA
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/apr/01/spokane-co-deputy-arrested-drunken-driving-cda/
Gee not a bad gig for $140K. Don’t have to do much, let his subordinates run the office and can be unavailable most of the time. Why the voters of Spokane continue to return Tucker to office is beyond me. I do remain the eternal optimist:-) As Donald Trump is so fond of saying - YOUR FIRED - Tucker!
For those interested see this FaceBook page re a recall effort:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002054800286&ref=ts
For more I would encourage all to read here:
Steve Tucker for Spokane County Prosecutor - A mockery of justice
http://tinyurl.com/25kd3we
UPDATE - Creach Police Shooting Investigation - Spokane, WA http://tinyurl.com/4wz2fpc ,
Creach OIS - Tucker makes decision on incomplete report/investigation
http://tinyurl.com/4hrat8h
Det. Ron Wright (Retired)
BitofBacon on April 06 at 12:05 p.m.
Wow, Ron, 26 friends on the Facebook page- do you really think that’s going to get rid of Tucker?
eagleproducer on April 06 at 12:37 p.m.
Probably 26 more than bitobacon has on his facebook…
bszottlinger on April 06 at 12:42 p.m.
EP:
Actually, BitofBacon does have considerably more.
READER27 on April 06 at 12:48 p.m.
Granted this young woman committed a crime that she shouldn’t have. But I believe they went a little far with this case. A felony? Was the store manager bruised or bleeding?? I think not. Yes, she did need to pay for her crime, but come on. This country is going down the tubes between frivolous lawsuits, and over-zealous charges from police departments and D.a offices looking to make someone and example…..Time to start my own country, I am getting sick of hearing everything that goes on.
DemoDriver on April 06 at 1:27 p.m.
I think we need to take a more reasonable look at what defines an “attack.” When a man or woman accidentally bumps into a LEO, store security, etc, does that necessarily warrant a felony charge?
We don’t throw people in jail if their cars slide in the snow and dent another motorist’s bumper, so why let anyone in authority claim they were “attacked” over casual or clearly unintended physical contact.
Is this worth taking away the career potential, voting rights, firearm rights over what should perhaps rightfully been either a misdemeanor or a simple civil beef?
D Statler on April 06 at 3:11 p.m.
This is the same Judge Eitzen that let the 13 prosecutors push her into ruling in their favor.She stated”I suppose those thirteen prosecutors were sharks circling the scent of blood in the water”. The same Judge that stated”These boys are victim of the perfect storm of procedural misconduct”.Then she failed to dismiss the bogus case when she had the chance.Instead levying $8,000 sanctions that had no effect of justice being served on a sometimes corrupt prosecutors office.Judge Eitzen may have shown some signs of wanting to make a morally right choice on this case. Judge Eitzen should have dismissed our case when the prosecutor showed up the morning of the trial and changed the date of the initial crime.She sure dropped the ball when she let three innocent young men go to prison on the uncorraberated testimony of a snitch.Thanks Judge Eitzen :^(
force_vector on April 06 at 3:20 p.m.
Is it possible the store manager embellished a bit, in the heat of the moment, while being interviewed by police? Is it possible that the store manager, pissed off that merchandise was taken, so much so that he confronted her outside the store, did what he thought he could to bring about maximum punishment to Kristin Bell? Either way, the way in which this case was handled and prosecuted is disgusting and shameful. This country needs productive members of society, not the “creation” of additional felons without justification.
Kivaari on April 06 at 3:22 p.m.
Poor Lewis, Otto wasn’t beaten to death. Hypoxia due to improper care by the officers and the EMS. Bad police work, worse EMS care. Call it what it was, and stop trying to change the truth.
Kivaari on April 06 at 3:26 p.m.
DemoDriver, It obviously had to be more then a minor bump. Thieves, don’t fight back and continue to attempt to get away, your little fighting changes the game. Don’t steal - if caught give up. Considering that a thief has NO RIGHTS during the commission of a crime, why be sympathetic to her?
Ron_the_Cop on April 06 at 3:43 p.m.
LOL BitofBacon,
You have to start somewhere:-)
Everyone who WANTS REAL CHANGE in how the criminal justice system works in this town whether conservative or liberal or somewhere in between, a good place to start would be to fire Tucker.
Don’t you think this has a certain ring to it - YOU’RE FIRED - Tucker!
If the S-R was a little more diligent in its investigative reporting, Tucker would have been history many moons ago. Oh well want do I know I’m just the 800 lb guerrilla in the room:-)
bszottlinger on April 06 at 4:21 p.m.
Ron_the_Cop:
As far as having a ring to it maybe Tucker-You’re Fired would have a better ring to it in a Bluegrass Song, what do you think Bits?
Kivarri:
Although I don’t agree with Lewis’s characterization of Otto Zehm having been beaten to death, surely as a retired officer you must know that the “cause-in-fact” was Officer Thompson’s actions.
Kivaari on April 06 at 4:55 p.m.
BSZ, You are absolutely correct. Thompson was way out of line. The EMS people were totally ineffective. I believe the city needs to do the right thing by paying Otto’s mother. I think Thompson should have been punished, at least within the departments structure. I think the EMS/fire fighters needed to be punished. I think the the administrators that hid the evidence of wrong doing should be punished. I don’t think a criminal case will bring justice. Why, does Spokane continue to promote such abuses? Had I treated Zehm as Thompson did, I would have been fired. Now how does the city or county punish the guilty parties? I don’t know. Zehm was an innocent victim, in an event triggered by a good faith report by the girls. Dispatch seemed to mangle the transmission when they sent SPD. What prompted Thompson to be so violent falls outside anything we were trained to do. I could see Thompson approaching Zehm with a drawn gun and ordering him to the ground. I can’t see his justification for hitting him with his baton, without first making a verbal command. My complaint with Lewis, is he misses the basic facts of the case. The reality of the legal defense Thompson can raise. The prospect of a jury having a reasonable doubt. I think if the jury were composed of police officers, Thompson would be found guilty. Cops understand his defense, but I don’t think most cops would go along with Thompson’s methods. Hey, it’s my opinion.
Orphan on April 06 at 4:58 p.m.
Eagleproducer You really need to stop the personal attacks, I think you are a lot smarter than that. Dont threaten to beat me up now, ROTFLMAO
Kivaari on April 06 at 5:01 p.m.
Ron, If Tucker is as absent as he seems to be, and his reputation for having too much to drink for lunch is true, the voters need to change who sits in the chair. Why wasn’t a better candidate supported? Where was the public? Where were the letters to the editor? The news reports?
Ron_the_Cop on April 06 at 6:55 p.m.
Kivaari,
Your guess is good as mine as to why Tucker continues to remain in office.
Stevens and Bugbee both Republicans and each definitely far superior to Tucker, took each other out in the primary leaving it a race between Malone and Tucker. After the primary I even went over to Malone’s camp, contributed money and did some sign waiving time. In the end Tucker squeaked through because it was a Republican year.
In my opinion the voters were not informed of the considerable faults of Tucker by our local paper of record. The WA AG’s Office gave political cover to Tucker in covering up the Savage manslaughter case. Tucker should have been outed by the AG’s Office for his incompetence in this case. There were serious mistakes made in the Creach OIS investigation by SPD and yet Tucker says nothing. Yet not one column inch by the S-R. Why?
The S-R has had these stories but chooses not to report them. Instead the S-R will beat the drum on Zehm but continues to give good press to Chief Kirkpatrick. Again I ask why? I know the S-R Editorial Board came out for Malone near the end of the election but I think a majority of the votes had already been dropped by that time.
Zehm’s death is just symptomatic of much more deeply rooted systemic corruption issues with our local government that will not address incompetent police and criminal justice leadership. I’m a strong supporter of the police rank and file who deserve better.
Yes I did say CORRUPTION. Yes right HERE in RIVER CITY. I would all encourage to read the excellent work of Mr. X who has independently reached the same conclusion in his research. Go to his blog and read his eight-part series with excellent visual representations of his data:
http://inlandnw.wordpress.com/
I found this one particularly fascinating and linked and wrote about it at my blog:
Wages and pouring concrete - the reason why the wage base in Spokane, Wa is so low
http://tinyurl.com/66p6j4q
I would also encourage all to read the work of Larry Shook at:
www.larryshook.com
Spokane’s Anarchist Mayor
America’s Most Dangerous Cop
I’ve been outspoken regarding Tucker’s performance or I should say lack of taking a leadership role in the LE community to demand better. See my links above. I’ve taken personal heat for speaking openly from certain LE leaders in this community. I’m sorry I demand better.
I would invite those who want real change in Spokane to read my comment in the thread regarding the US DOJ’s Office of Civil Rights has opened a full pattern/practice investigation on Seattle PD:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/apr/01/feds-will-investigate-seattle-police-practices/?comments#c281937
I will allow the readers to decide who has credibility regarding these issues. I will match my qualifications on any day with those who have taken cheep shots at me. I don’t mean to toot my own horn but see my credentials below.
Det. Ron Wright (Retired)
Riverside PD, CA
Now by choice living in Spokane for it’s many fine attributes and amenities
Masters of Administration, University of California, Riverside, CA
BA Political Science, Cal State University, Fullerton, CA (With Honors - inducted to nat’l honor society of Phi Kappa Phi)
AA Administration of Justice, Riverside Community College, Riverside, CA (With Distinction)
Riverside Sheriff’s Academy – graduated academically No. 1
Principal, Ron Wright Investigations LLC - Spokane, WA
Past two-term President Riverside Police Officers’ Assn, Riverside, CA
Former planning commissioner City of Grand Terrace, CA
Past multi-term president of a CA statewide investigators’ association.
Instructor in criminal justice, – Forensics and Crime Scene Investigation, Controversial Issues in Law Enforcement and Community Oriented Policing
Professional Vitae with significant case histories of complex criminal cases worked ( http://tinyurl.com/265r62g )
bszottlinger on April 06 at 7:41 p.m.
I think it is real important to understand that there are some excellent prosecutors in Mr. Tuckers office, and some are not in the least bit happy with the way things are often handled. Even though it is a good thing he is passing around some of the more serious cases to prosecutors that haven’t had a lot of experience in that area they need to be mentored by someone competent in the critical areas dealing with pre-trial preparation as well as the complexities involved with presentation. Just one of the many reasons during the election several of the Assistant DA’s, some overtly and others covertly, did not support Tucker. My concern is that the good ones will pick up some of the real bad habits that have somehow become ingrained in a few that have been around for a long time.
One recent case leading to a mistrial appears to be a simple matter of not asking your witness (or demanding law enforcement ask) the very elementary question; “Was there any conversation between you and the defendant regarding the gun?” “Specifically what were the conversations between you and the defendant, when and where did they take place?” If the right questions aren’t asked by the prosecutor or the prosecutor doesn’t demand that the right questions are asked by law enforcement problems will continue.
I agree with ChefGus, it is a three legged stool, and the most powerful, and most important leg is the prosecutor.
Marie on April 06 at 8:53 p.m.
Did any of the people who posted on this site sit through the trial? I didn’t. After the first Spokesman article I looked at the court file, which is a public record. The “affidavit of facts” in the file gives the officer’s version of what happened, and I made notes. According to the affidavit, the store employees said that Ms. Bell had shoplifted a few days before this incident and they had not been able to catch her. The day this happened the employees said that Ms. Bell had been in the store an hour stealing items before she left the store. When they tried to stop her there was a struggle and Ms. Bell fell down. When she got up she got into her car and the employees were still following her. The employees told her to stop and one of them was holding on to her car. He held on to the passenger side of the car and she didn’t stop so he finally let go. Someone had written down the license plate and that is how they found her.
Spending an hour in a store taking things that you have no intention of paying for is not a mistake, it is a crime. Saying to a store employee that you don’t have to stop or talk to them, and pushing them out of your way turns makes your situation more serious. If the employee was holding onto the car while she was driving, she’s fortunate that the employee wasn’t hurt.
I don’t know how much of this was talked about at the trial but the article sure doesn’t mention it. Ms. Bell is having enough of a pity party for herself. The only thing that she is a victim of is her decision to steal and not accept the consequences when they tried to stop her. Her actions and nobody else’s led to her conviction.
bszottlinger on April 06 at 9:07 p.m.
Marie:
I am assuming this was a Cheney Police Officer, is that correct? What was his/her name? If you took notes you should be able to tell us which specific charge/s the officer requested the prosecutor charge.
Ron_the_Cop on April 06 at 9:26 p.m.
Marie,
Interesting. Still however in my former jurisdiction without any priors, no real injuries, this case may have squeaked through as a felony filing but I’m guessing it would have been dealt out at the preliminary hearing as a misd. If it did managed to stay a felony it would have been a P&S - proceedings suspended for the purpose of granting local probation. If the deft kept their nose clean for the term of probation the conviction could reduced to a misd.
Taking this case all the way to a jury trial seems to me was a little overkill. Appealing the decision of the judge seems a little strange unless the prosecutor’s office has a running battle with this judge. In CA a judge does have some discretion in sentencing. Further if this did go to superior court as a felony more than likely lesser included charges would be included so that the jury could convict on the lesser charge it they felt it was overcharged.
Ron_the_Cop on April 06 at 9:39 p.m.
Marie,
One thing though in the press account there’s no mention of the car and dragging of the store employee. I would be interested if the prosecutors brought this out at trial. If not why not?
This would move it into the realm of a felony in our jurisdiction. More to a felony P&S as I outlined above.
D Statler on April 06 at 9:44 p.m.
Spokane’s prosecutors have a very bad habit of overcharging.This is increasing the back log of cases and increasing the numbers being held at Spokane County Jail.They forget it is just as important to prove innocense as it is to prove guilt.Lay enough charges out there and eventually something will stick.Sometimes doing the right thing is too hard when you have a ill sided point to prove.Leadership starts from the top.We obviously need some intervention.Morality seems to have disappeared by the wayside.
bszottlinger on April 06 at 10:05 p.m.
Marie:
The way you describe the affidavit it sounds like this craft store in Cheney had a problem with a young booster (east coast for shoplifter) and the booster chasers (east coast for store security) suspected she was boosting stuff earlier so they watched her like a hawk, when she came back in, waited till she left the store as they have to do and tried to detain her like they can legally do. There was a struggle (which the affidavit apparently doesn’t describe) But she escaped the efforts to detain her and wheels away. Then ends up busted. She apparently wasn’t one of those boost with the intent to sell people..you know the ones that they added the Theft with Intent to Sell Code specifically for.
Who knows maybe this was a big deal for the City of Cheney, doubt they get a whole lot of Robbery action out there. I wonder how many times the booster chasers at the malls have to struggle with a booster that breaks free and splits and what those folks get charged with if they finally get caught. I think it might be misdemeanor theft and maybe resisting arrest or something, I don’t know. You wouldn’t happen to know who owns the craft store by any chance would you and how that might play into this whole mess.
bszottlinger on April 07 at 10:04 a.m.
no_bs:
Okay then fill us in, but would you please do it after 5pm.
Ron_the_Cop on April 07 at 10:43 a.m.
NO-BS,
I agree with BDZ. Please do fill us in. I can’t disclose why but both Big Brother and Little Brother may now be watching the S-R article threads/blogs for public employees posting on company time from company IP addresses. Do watch your back:-)
If you’ve read my links I’m definitely not in the “most favored” status with S-R editors and owners. You actually do make some good points regarding Mr. Vestal’s objectivity. Generally Mr. Vestal does special assignment reporting so there can be editorial/opinion biases creep in.
I was just surprised that Mr. Vestal actually was reporting on a matter of interest regarding our criminal justice system and gave appropriate him KUDOS for doing so. As you can see from my posts there are many more twists, turns and interesting aspects of our criminal justice system that the S-R SHOULD AND COULD do to inform the electorate so the voters can make informed choices at the ballot box - like I would definitely follow/shadow Mr. Tucker on his rounds during the day. From my sources this could prove to be very enlightening.
Yes Marie does bring some additional information to this discussion worthy of consideration. This is why the new/alternative/social media is a very valuable adjunct to old school journalism and the old MSM business paradigm which is going in the tank and staff shrink.
Again do feel free to share additional information. I will stand by my opinion that this case may have been overcharged and perhaps was a misallocation of scarce criminal justice resources. If had to guess and spent some hallway time at the courthouse, I would guess there is a battle going on between this judge and the prosecutors office and this girl got sucked into the vortex.
Such disputes are not productive and a waste of resources for WE THE TAXPAYERS. If there is such a dispute then our man, Mr. Tucker, should be out front to deal with this and informed the public if there are issues with this judge. Some how I believe Mr. Tucker is too preoccupied with other duties or is otherwise unavailable to deal with these issues.
Mr. Tucker is an employee of the WE THE PEOPLE drawing down $140K.
TUCKER - YOUR FIRED!
bszottlinger on April 07 at 11:19 a.m.
No_BS:
Mr. Wright and I agree on a number of things, and disagree on a number of others. One of the areas of disagreement is the S-R reporting issue. Although I would like to see some more in-depth investigative reporting, on the whole I feel they do a good job.
I would head Mr. Wright’s warning, especially given some of your past postings. Please don’t misunderstand, I welcome your input as long you approach it from a general perspective and don’t comment with any degree of specificity about cases handled by your office or you personally, and as long as it is on your own time. I also feel your comments regarding Judge Eitzen on this forum are out of line given your position.
I honestly believe if there was more communication and transparency between your office, the media, and the public that the community would have a better understanding.
bszottlinger on April 07 at 12:58 p.m.
Whatever……..
Marie on April 07 at 2:07 p.m.
The detective’s name is Pumphrey, I think (his writing is hard to read). He requested a second degree robbery charge. The jury could have convicted Ms. Bell of third degree theft (it’s in the jury instructions) but they didn’t.
I would like to know what the SPD and the Sheriff’s office charge in similar cases. I would like to know how the prosecutor’s office handles similar cases. Maybe a reporter could do another story that gives us more facts.
bszottlinger on April 07 at 4:02 p.m.
Marie:
Here are some recent ones for you. You might note they all have lengthy criminal histories unlike Ms. Bell. We don’t know the case dispositions or whether the cases have been concluded yet but since you are around the court house you could check and see if any charge reductions or plea arrangements were made and compare them to this case which was taken to trial.
http://66.45.170.57/blogs/sirens/tags/shoplifting/
DemoDriver on April 08 at 11:51 a.m.
Kivarii:
By “minor bump” perhaps “unintended contact” would’ve been more accurate wordsmithing.
What I meant, and what seems plausible is simply that a shoplifter, running on foot, could certainly get a case of “tunnel vision” looking at that one focal point of escape: his/her car for example, and loses any semblence of overal situational awareness.
So store security comes in on the runners 2 and the runner doesn’t notice. They bump shoulders, store manager goes down. We see far worse in prep-school level soccer. Yet this clearly unintentional contact warrants a felony charge—which then denies this person his/her voting and firearm rights while severely diminishing any future career potential.
It should be taken on a case-by-case basis. The courts put a lot of weight on premeditation in murder trials, making decades of sentencing differences between pre-meditated first degree murder and heat of the moment manslaughter.
If one who plans, plots, then poisons a victim warrants more time than one who gets drunk and ‘accidentally’ discharges a firearm, then why put the weight of a felony on a fleeing, first-time shoplifter who likely knocked over a manager without any malice of forethought?
bszottlinger on April 08 at 12:27 p.m.
Demo:
According to Maria’s account of the affidavit, it was Ms. Bell that fell to the ground, not the store manager. We don’t have the transcripts of the trial so it is difficult to say what was given to the jury it looks like we will have to get them. We do have a concern regarding certain relationships and the charging decision., based on a number of factors including some of the posts here.
Mr. Vestal’s assessment appears to be dead on at this point, but there are a number of things that need to be followed up on that he was unaware of.
Your Call:
3.8 along with Moore. Or take care of it.