Homeless Idaho gubernatorial candidate lands in jail

BOISE – A Boise man who recently registered to run for governor of Idaho in 2018 using a local homeless shelter as his address is in the Ada County Jail, after turning himself in over the weekend on a probation violation.

According to Ada County jail records, Troy Minton, 39, also was served with a warrant for an additional charge of theft when he turned himself in at 11:20 p.m. Saturday; he had been on probation for another theft charge. His court record shows several similar charges.

Minton was booked into the jail and remained there on Tuesday afternoon.

Minton, formerly a plaintiff in an anti-panhandling lawsuit, filed his initial paperwork with the Idaho secretary of state’s office to run for governor in 2018 as a Democrat. He told KTVB-TV in Boise a week later that he’s lived in several homeless shelters and at one point lived on the street, and that his life experiences were behind his desire to run and champion raising the minimum wage and helping struggling Idaho families.

On Monday, Minton pleaded guilty to theft for stealing a cellphone at the Interfaith Sanctuary homeless shelter in February. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail with 55 suspended, and began serving the other five. He also was sentenced to a year of probation, a fine and court costs.

Also, he could also face a restitution order. He faces a May 12 court hearing on the probation violation.

A total of six candidates have filed to run for governor of Idaho in 2018. Three are Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Brad Little; Boise developer and physician Tommy Ahlquist; and former state Sen. Russ Fulcher of Meridian. Also filing papers are independents Lisa Marie of Boise and John Thomas Wiechec of Middleton.

Though the primary election isn’t until May 2018, the three announced GOP candidates appeared together Tuesday on a panel at a Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce transportation conference in McCall. Rep. Raul Labrador also is considering a run but hasn’t announced his intentions.