Mason pleads innocent

The former Idaho Falls prosecutor will go to trial Feb. 12 on 13 felony charges.

By PHIL DAVIDSON

pdavidson@postregister.com

Former Idaho Falls Prosecutor Kimball Mason pleaded innocent Wednesday to 13 felonies during a brief hearing.

Appearing before retired 6th District Judge William Woodland, 52-year-old Mason also waived his right to hear the charges leveled against him. Seven are for grand

theft, and six charges are forgery-related.

The Idaho attorney general's office says Mason stole guns from the Idaho Falls Police Department's evi-

dence room using court orders that in some cases contained forged signatures of judges.

But Mason's attorney, Jim Archibald, said a plea bargain Mason struck with the state in the spring exempts his client from further prosecution. (Under the terms of the plea deal, Mason confessed to two counts of grand theft and one count of falsifying a public document for charges similar to those he's now facing. In exchange, Mason agreed to come clean to state investigators about other guns he took from the police department.)

During Wednesday's five-minute hearing, which Mason's wife and brother attended, Woodland set Mason's jury trial for Feb. 12.

The judge also scheduled a Nov. 21 hearing on a host of issues:

• The state wants Woodland to relinquish jurisdiction of Mason's case, in effect sending him to prison.

In the spring, when Woodland gave Mason a one- to five-year sentence, the judge "retained jurisdiction" over the sentence. That means he allowed Mason to start his sentence at a minimum-security facility, North Idaho Correctional Institution at Cottonwood, instead of at a maximum-security prison. Typically, when a judge retains jurisdiction, the criminal serves a stint at Cottonwood before being set free and spending the bulk of the sentence on probation.

In Mason's case, the state is asking Woodland to revoke jurisdiction and order the former prosecutor to serve out the sentence in prison.

• Mason's attorney has filed a motion calling for enforcement of his plea bargain with the state.

According to that agreement, the attorney general's office would only charge Mason with the three felonies in exchange for Mason giving a "full and truthful" statement regarding the whereabouts of 51 guns investigators say he took from the department.

Investigators were able to account for 18 of those guns, and Mason said he destroyed the rest.

Archibald argues that his client should be immune from further prosecution because that agreement, dated March 16, says "the information given by the defendant will not be used against the defendant."

The state, however, says Mason lied about how many guns he stole, thereby nullifying the plea agreement.

Several guns Mason said he'd destroyed turned up in a June 2 raid of Mason's house.

The discovery of those guns prompted the new charges.

Jay Rosenthal, the deputy attorney general handling the case, said although it's not likely he'll be as amenable to a plea agreement on the current charges, "There's a possibility of anything in cases like this."

• Mason's attorney has filed a motion for a change of venue.

In the meantime, Mason is in segregation at the Bonneville County Jail. Jim Archibald, his attorney, said Mason wants to be released to the general population but is worried about threats he received at Cottonwood from guys "wanting to kick his ass."

Mason hasn't been threatened at the county jail, Archibald said.

Reporter Phil Davidson can be reached at 542-6750.

The Mason case

So far: Though he is still serving time on his May 30 convictions for grand theft and falsifying a public document, former Idaho Falls Prosecutor Kimball Mason is facing 13 new felonies. State investigators allege he stole guns from the Idaho Falls Police Department's evidence room using court orders that he forged in some cases.

The latest: Mason pleaded innocent to all 13 charges Wednesday.

What's next: Mason will have a hearing Nov. 21, at which Judge William Woodland will decide whether Mason should be sent to prison for the remainder of the one- to five-year sentence he received in May. (Woodland could let Mason serve out the sentence on probation.)