CRIME: Don’t go soft, judges

The headline in the Local section of last Friday’s Press was ‘Man Faces Felony over stolen gun.’ Apparently, this 44-year-old pillar of the community was stopped by the ISP on Oct. 17 for DUI, possession of a stolen firearm, a felony, carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence, and possession of an open container.

In an impressive display of honesty, our partying traveler decided to alert the officer to a second hidden pistol in a compartment of his trunk, which just happened to have been reported stolen out of Minnesota.

Reportedly, the BAC levels he blew on the breathalyzer were .199 and .188 respectively. A .08 BAC or more is considered legally impaired in our wonderful state of Idaho.

I can share with you that his allegedly being more than twice the legal limit of intoxication is very dangerous to all innocent, unsuspecting drivers who may have children and other loved ones in their vehicle, and who could be killed in an instant due to the irresponsible, criminal behavior of one selfish individual. Innocents are killed every day and it must stop! Harsher penalties must be handed down to send the message that Idaho will not accept the status quo when it comes to crime and driving while intoxicated.

Now the final disgusting morsel of this story so far is that the judge in this case, in his or her bit of uncanny wisdom, released this guy on his own recognizance! I wonder if he was invited for dinner as well? Judges like this are part of the problem in Idaho...

DAVE SHELDON

Hayden