Mason 'dishonest to the end'

I.F. police chief says he didn't believe guns were destroyed

By PAUL MENSER

pmenser@postregister.com

Livsey

Idaho Falls Police Chief J. Kent Livsey says he never trusted Kimball Mason's claim that he destroyed 33 of the guns he took from the police evidence room.

"Nobody would throw that kind of stuff away," he said.

But police needed more than suspicions to search the former Idaho Falls prosecutor's residence. They needed specific information about where the guns were hidden to convince a judge there was probable cause for a search.

And they didn't have that until Thursday, when they got a tip that people associated Mason were removing guns from his home.

"Just because you know someone is a thief doesn't mean you have the right to search his home or storage unit," Livsey said Monday.

Police searched the house for the first time Friday and removed more than 30 firearms and rifles, one of which still had evidence tape on it.

Had they searched a few days earlier, they might not have found anything.

The week before his sentencing, Mason asked a friend and fellow attorney, John Stosich, to keep his guns because it is unlawful for felons to possess firearms. Stosich complied, but on May 31, the day after the sentencing, he called Mason's son to come get them.

Mason

Without the tip, police wouldn't have been able to search his house and the guns likely wouldn't have been recovered. The tip contained such specific information that police were able to use it to get a search warrant.

Probable cause isn't easy to prove, Bonneville County Prosecutor Dane Watkins Jr. said. Information has to be reliable, accurate and timely in order for a judge to agree to let police search a person's residence.

"You have to have your ducks in a row," Watkins said. "You are asking a judge to let you intrude on their privacy."

Steve Bywater, who heads the attorney general's investigative unit, said officials are sifting through the evidence taken from the home.

It will be up to the Idaho attorney general's office whether Mason will face any new charges. No additional charges had been filed by Monday night.

Mason pleaded guilty in March to two counts of grand theft and one count of falsifying a public document. He was sentenced May 30 to three concurrent terms of one to five years. District Judge William Woodland retained jurisdiction, meaning Mason would be evaluated by the Department of Correction for 180 days before any final sentence might be pronounced.

In the course of their investigation, officials believed Mason had taken 51 guns from the evidence room but were able to trace only 18 of them. Mason said he had destroyed the rest.

Livsey said Mason's attempt to hide the guns at his home was in keeping with everything he'd seen since last fall, when the city prosecutor first came under scrutiny.

"I think a lot of people think that Kimball Mason was a good man who made a mistake," he said. "Kimball Mason is a criminal with criminal intent. He lies and continues to lie. He was dishonest to the end."

Staff writer Paul Menser can be reached at 542-6752.