Leniency Probably Not In The Cards This Time

Kenneth Freeman, 35, has had a variety of run-ins with the law including possession of controlled substances, driving while intoxicated, violating protection orders, trespassing and domestic violence.

He also failed to show up for court hearings and failed to pay several fines on time, resulting in seven warrants.

The Hayden man’s Kootenai County record dates back to 1993 when he was arrested on a charge of driving without privileges. A few months later he was stopped on a charge of driving under the influence - twice. The second time he also was cited for being in possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and some alleged hunting violations.

He was tried on the two DUI charges at the same time, and the rest of the charges were dropped. Freeman spent a total of 10 days in jail, paid nearly $1,400 and was sentenced to two years of probation.

For the next few years, Freeman stayed out of trouble. But in 1997 he was back in jail on a domestic violence charge and for allegedly violating a protection order. He was sentenced to a year in jail, but 11 months of his sentence was suspended. He spent a couple of weeks in jail and again was given two years of probation.

Three months later, Freeman was cited for disturbing the peace and violating a protection order again. For that violation he was given three months in jail. His probation for that violation ended last April.

Freeman racked up three warrants for those domestic violence charges when he failed to pay the fines on time and when he missed a hearing.

In May 2000, just one month after completing his probationary period, Freeman was cited for possession of a controlled substance. He was given one year of determinate time in prison and two years of indeterminate time. But that sentence was suspended, and he only spent 30 days in jail. He reported to jail Sept. 6 for his 30 days.

His three years of probation is scheduled to end Aug. 28, 2003. His probation time may be moot now. He was arrested the last week of October for an alleged probation violation, a charge that could lead to hard prison time.

“He had three years hanging over his head,” said Kootenai County sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger.

Considering Freeman’s criminal history, Wolfinger said he expects Freeman to be sentenced to prison. “He has had seven warrants,” Wolfinger said. “When you don’t show up for court time after time, it’s going to catch up with you.”

Wolfinger said he doesn’t expect a judge to show much leniency toward Freeman this time.

“When they get a year, that usually means they will be going down to Boise to do hard time,” he said.

This sidebar appeared with the story: EXPLANATION Criminal history

Every week, Handle Extra publishes a list of people who were booked into the Kootenai County Jail on felony warrants the previous week.

A few of the people have long histories with the justice system, which are detailed on their rap sheets. Sheriff’s officials complain that such repeat offenders clog the courts and fill the jails.

How can one person be arrested numerous times and still have their freedom? This new Handle Extra feature attempts to explain this by providing details of a typical inmate’s criminal history.