Mason appears in I.F. court

The former I.F. city prosecutor was ordered held on bond, and a preliminary hearing for the new charges was set.

By PHIL DAVIDSON

pdavidson@postregister.com

Mason

A noticeably thinner Kimball Mason appeared in court Thursday via video feed, the first time he's gone before a judge since he's been charged with 13 felonies.

Magistrate Judge Earl Blower ordered the former Idaho Falls city prosecutor held on $500,000 bond.

Mason, who arrived at the Bonneville County Jail on Wednesday night after a two-day bus trip from Cottonwood, said little during the five-minute hearing other than he understood his rights and didn't have any questions for the judge.

The 52-year-old has been in the North Idaho Correctional Institution at Cottonwood since late May, when he was sentenced for stealing from the Idaho Falls Police Department's evidence locker.

State prosecutors filed similar charges against him a week ago.

On Thursday, Blower set a preliminary hearing on the new charges for Sept. 26. Then, Deputy Attorney

General Jay Rosenthal will present arguments and witnesses to convince a magistrate judge to "bound over" Mason's case and forward it to Bonneville County's district court, where Mason, the former Idaho Falls prosecutor, would eventually enter a plea.

Mason's attorney, Jim Archibald, can also present witnesses and refute the state's allegations.

It might be hard to find a judge, though.

None of the seven magistrate judges who routinely preside over cases in Bonneville County will sit on the bench for Mason's preliminary hearing because of their familiarity with him, said 7th Judicial District Trial Court Administrator Burt Butler. Mason also has the right under Idaho law to disqualify one judge without saying why.

The 13 felonies the attorney general's office alleges Mason committed include six counts of grand theft for guns stolen from the IFPD's evidence room. The attorney general's office also said Mason reproduced judges' signatures on court orders without their knowledge and charged Mason with six counts of forgery related to those crimes.

He still could have more time to serve at Cottonwood, but that depends on the order of retired 6th District Judge William Woodland, who still has jurisdiction over the previous case.

Woodland is supposed to review the case and decide whether Mason should serve the remaining one- to five-year prison sentence originally imposed, or allow Mason to serve the rest of his time on probation.

The attorney general's office has filed motions asking Woodland to send Mason to prison for the maximum five years. Archibald, Mason's lawyer, said the judge won't decide that until after the preliminary hearing on the new case.

Efforts to reach Woodland for comment were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, Mason has his own cell at the Bonneville County Jail, for his protection.

Cops and Courts reporter Phil Davidson can be reached at 542-6750.