Mason failed to return seized guns

I.F. prosecutor confiscated man's weapons with incomplete form

By PHIL DAVIDSON

pdavidson@postregister.com

Post Register The court order Idaho Falls City Prosecutor Kimball Mason gave to Idaho Falls police to seize a defendant's guns contains no customary case number and spelled the defendant's name wrong.

Idaho Falls City Prosecutor Kimball Mason confiscated an Idaho Falls man's guns in 2003 with an incomplete document that a judge signed anyway.

Police arrested Jimmie Caudle in October 2002 for three misdemeanors -- possession of a controlled substance, paraphernalia and carrying a concealed weapon while intoxicated.

Officers seized Caudle's 9 mm Llama semiautomatic handgun and his Ruger 10/22 semiautomatic rifle during the arrest.

When Caudle pleaded guilty to a Bonneville County charge of destruction of evidence stemming from the same case, Mason dropped the city charges May 20, 2003.

The agreement between Mason and Caudle's attorney Victor Bunitsky was in "the interest of justice and judicial economy," according to papers in the court file.

Caudle was sentenced Dec. 30, 2002, to 19 days in jail, and he served his time. Magistrate Judge Earl Blower then ordered on Sept. 18, 2003, that Caudle's guns be returned to him by the Idaho Falls Police Department, according to court records.

But Caudle never got his guns back.

Twelve days before he had even dropped the charges, Kimball Mason presented the police department with a judge's order that the firearms be forfeited to and disposed of by his office.

A copy of the order obtained by the Post Register contains Magistrate Judge Keith Walker's signature, but it had no case number and incorrectly spelled Caudle's name.

It states that the forfeiture was ordered "pursuant to a plea agreement with the consent of the defendant and defendant's attorney."

Caudle has been advised by his current lawyer not to discuss the case because of other pending charges, but he acknowledged that he did want his guns back.

The secretary for Caudle's new lawyer, Bonneville County Public Defender Jordan Crane, said Crane had no comment on the case.

Judge Walker said he has no specific recollection of signing the order Mason presented to him because of the volume of cases he handles in Bonneville County.

When asked about the lack of a case number on the order, Walker said, "That's not probably something I would notice."

The whereabouts of Caudle's guns are unknown at this point, mostly because the state Attorney General's Office is currently investigating Mason and property seizures from cases he handled. The Idaho Falls Police Department's records custodian wrote a letter to the Post Register denying a request to look at evidence logs because it would "interfere with enforcement proceedings."

Mayor Linda Milam put Mason on paid administrative leave Dec. 12 pending the result of the investigation. The attorney general's spokesman said there's no timetable for when the investigation will be completed.

Efforts to reach Mason for comment by phone and by mail have been unsuccessful in recent weeks. Mason's home number is unlisted, and calls to his office Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were not answered.

Under Idaho Code, any firearm in a city police department's possession may be converted for the department's use, sold to a licensed dealer or destroyed. The department shall maintain records as to the acquisition, serial number, location, use and final disposition of the firearm.