A myriad of cases heard during Law Day

WALLACE — District Judge Scott Wayman presided over several local cases earlier this week during the first Shoshone County Law Day of October on Wednesday.

Earlier in the morning, Wayman handed down a sentence in the case State v. Stanley C. Radford.

Radford had been arrested in February of this year after failing to stop at the command of a law enforcement officer who was responding to a vehicle roll-over accident in Silverton.

Radford’s failure to comply with the Osburn police officer resulted in him crashing his car into a tree.

Radford was not injured and attempted to walk away from the crash scene, but was quickly taken into custody for outstanding warrants, along with new charges for possession of a controlled substance, destroying, concealing or altering evidence; resisting and obstructing an officer; and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He pleaded not guilty to all but one of the charges, but agreed to a plea agreement for the felony destroying/concealing or altering evidence.

Shoshone County Prosecutor Keisha Oxendine asked that the court impose the maximum sentence with no probation and no retained jurisdiction, however Wayman thought otherwise and imposed a three-year sentence, one year fixed and two indeterminate, but retained jurisdiction.

Retained jurisdiction, or more commonly known as “riders” are individuals on which the court has retained jurisdiction and sentenced to a period of incarceration in an Idaho Department of Corrections facility.

The IDOC assesses riders to determine their needs and places them in the appropriate facilities to receive intensive programming and education.

Upon completion of a rider, the court determines whether to place an individual on probation or sentence the individual to term.

Later that morning, Judge Wayman heard a motion for a Rule 35 in the case of State v. Brian Golden.

Golden had received a concurrent five-year prison sentence (two years fixed, three years indeterminate) back in February of this year and was petitioning on Wednesday for the court to reverse their sentence and let him out of prison.

Golden was arrested on/or around the night of Jan. 22, 2018, for two counts of possession of methamphetamine after Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office Deputies located “a baggie and/or baggies” of the illegal substance “in a night stand adjacent to his bed” at his home. Deputies also found a spoon on top of the night stand that tested positive for methamphetamine residue.

After pleading “not guilty” to both counts at his arraignment on May 9, a jury trial was conducted on Sept. 11, 2018.

Following the full-day trial, the jury deliberated for more than 90 minutes before returning with a guilty verdict on both counts.

Golden then waited until February for his sentencing.

Golden has a fairly lengthy criminal history in Shoshone County that includes several driving and licensing violations, drug offenses and an unlawful possession of a weapon charge, likely these factors were considered when Judge Wayman agreed with the state’s objection and denied Golden’s motion for a Rule 35 on Wednesday morning.

Idaho Criminal Rule 35 is a statute that governs the correcting and reducing of sentences handed down by judges in misdemeanor and felony criminal cases in Idaho.

Later that afternoon, Judge Wayman held an evidentiary hearing in the case of State v. Joshua Easley.

The evidentiary hearing was in regard to a probation violation stemming from an incident that occurred two years ago in Kellogg.

On Nov. 10, 2017, Easley was arrested for his role in the theft of numerous Bunker Hill Mine artifacts and rare minerals, including thousands of pyromorphite crystals, from a residence on Railroad Avenue owned by Bob Hopper Jr.

Working off a tip, the Kellogg Police Department and Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Easley’s Kellogg home and located most of the stolen items. Many of the minerals were damaged or destroyed during the theft.

After pleading guilty to the theft by receiving or possessing stolen property charge, Wayman initially handed down a two-year fixed, eight-year indeterminate prison sentence in October 2018, but then suspended the sentence in favor of three years felony probation.

On July 18, Easley was accused of four different violations of the terms of his probation, including possession of a controlled substance, consuming alcohol, failing a urinalysis and a fourth violation that was withdrawn.

On Aug. 20, Easley once again violated his probation when he was caught smuggling suboxone into a rehabilitation facility, which led to his termination from the Good Samaritan Rehab Program.

Easley was able to get back into the program, which likely contributed to the actions taken by Judge Wayman on Wednesday.

Despite a recommendation from the state that his original 10-year sentence be invoked, Wayman decided on what he referred to as the “judicial equivalent of a punt” which involves allowing Easley to complete his inpatient rehabilitation.

Wayman believed this to be the best course of action after looking at both the positives and negatives in regard to the changes that Easley had been making.

Easley will appear before Judge Wayman in Shoshone County once again in November.