Mason sentenced for theft Former I.F. prosecutor will be eligible for release in six months

The sentence was for one to five years for stealing property from the Idaho Falls Police Department.

By PHIL DAVIDSON

pdavidson@postregister.com

Former Idaho Falls City Prosecuting Attorney Kimball Mason is led away in handcuffs Tuesday in the Bonneville County Courthouse after he was sentenced to one to five years in prison. He will be eligible for release in six months.

Former City Prosecutor Kimball Mason will likely spend no more than six months in jail for stealing guns and other property from the Idaho Falls Police Department.

Retired 6th District Judge William Woodland sentenced him on Tuesday to three concurrent one- to five-year prison terms, but retained jurisdiction over the case. That means Mason will be eligible for release after 180 days.

The sentence adheres to a plea agreement Mason made with the state attorney general's office. In it, the ex-lawyer pleaded guilty to two counts of grand theft and one count of falsifying a public document.

Mason, 51, resigned in mid-January after serving for 12 years as city prosecutor. He made $112,000 in 2005 but has since forfeited his law license for five years as part of his plea deal.

Woodland, who took the case after all other eligible district judges recused themselves, called it as "troubling" as any he's seen in his career. He seemed to find the falsifying charge particularly unsettling.

That charge, the circumstances of which Woodland referred to as puzzling, stemmed from a court order signed a few years ago by Magistrate Judge Keith Walker. In January 2004, Walker ruled that Mason had permission to seize a convicted drug dealer's gun and turn it over to the city.

However, Mason altered the order to include more than just the gun. He added in his own handwriting that knives, a monocular, three pairs of binoculars and a mini-cassette player also be forfeited to the city through him. Police records indicate he kept the items for himself.

"I simply cannot imagine how a person of your knowledge would presume with any authority to alter a court record," Woodland told Mason before he sentenced him. "This, stripped of everything else, is basically a case of public corruption."

Idaho Deputy Attorney General Jay Rosenthal, who prosecuted Mason on behalf of the state, said the former prosecutor's actions ranked among the highest examples of malfeasance he's seen.

He said he expected Woodland to retain jurisdiction at Mason's sentencing and believed the punishment was just, even though it was less than the minimum one-year jail term he recommended.

Mason is set to report to a correctional facility, likely the North Idaho Correctional Institute at Cottonwood, where he'll serve what's commonly referred to as a rider: After Mason serves 180 days, Woodland will determine whether to release him or order him to fulfill his maximum five-year sentence.

Most offenders given a rider are placed on probation. In 2005, 12 percent of those who did riders at Cottonwood and Pocatello were sentenced to prison.

"It's the judge's decision," said Melinda O'Malley-Keckler, spokeswoman for the Idaho Department of Correction. "Rider sentences are designed to rehabilitate offenders into the community, but if the judge feels that isn't happening, they can sentence someone to prison instead of probation."

After Mason's sentencing, court marshals escorted him from the courtroom.

He was booked into the Bonneville County Jail, where he'll stay until the Idaho Department of Correction decides on his placement, according to the sheriff's office.

He will be housed separately for his safety because he has prosecuted some of the inmates at the jail.

What is a rider?

In felony cases, a judge may enter a judgment of conviction and impose a sentence, but retain jurisdiction (known as a rider) over the defendant for up to 180 days. During that period, the defendant undergoes diagnosis, and if he is determined not to be dangerous to society, will be sent to the North Idaho Correctional Institute at Cottonwood, or other facilities in the state. At the end of the 180-day period, the judge will determine whether to suspend the rest of the sentence and place the defendant on probation, or release jurisdiction and send him to prison.

Source: Idaho Supreme Court Media Guide