Judge: 'You've convinced me I made a mistake'

By RALPH BARTHOLDT

Staff Writer

A 44-year-old man who was convicted by a jury of aggravated battery earlier this month — and who faces rape charges in November — had a lengthy prison sentence imposed this week for a probation violation.

Michael S. South, 44, told the court Monday that allegations against him were overblown and that despite drinking and doing drugs while on probation, he could go straight if he were allowed to participate in a rehabilitation program.

“I made a few mistakes, I will take my licks,” South told First District Judge John Mitchell, who wasn’t so sure.

South, who was found guilty by a jury last week of aggravated assault and a weapons enhancement after threatening two people with a knife and punching a woman, faces a new rape charge in a separate case.

He was on probation when he pulled a knife on his former girlfriend and her friend in Rathdrum earlier this spring.

Mitchell, who had suspended South’s sentence allowing a probationary period for South in another assault case, said it wasn’t just South’s turn to reconsider his decisions.

“You have convinced me I made a mistake by not imposing your prison sentence,” Mitchell said. “You’ve convinced me I made a mistake by granting your Rule 35 motion … I made a mistake by placing you on unsupervised probation … You have convinced me you are no longer an acceptable risk to the public over the long term.”

South’s conviction last week stems from an incident in March when South threatened to slice and dice a Rathdrum property owner with a knife, which he also used to threaten a woman before punching her in the face.

After a three-day trial this week a jury deliberated for two hours before convicting South of aggravated assault, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a deadly weapons enhancement that can add as much as 15 years to the penalty.

South also faces a rape charge stemming from a June 2018 incident in which South is alleged to have used a hatchet or a knife when he confined and raped a woman in Kootenai County.

Mitchell on Monday imposed a five-year to life sentence resulting from the probation violation.

“I will not make the same mistake again,” Mitchell said. “It’s my hope the parole commission never allows you your freedom again. No woman should have to face what you have presented various women with at various points in time.”

South will remain in jail through his Nov. 5 sentencing for last week’s aggravated assault conviction, while his jury trial on the rape and aggravated assault charge is Nov. 11 in Coeur d’Alene.