Vancouver bail bondsman sentenced to 15 years

Discussion in 'Law & Justice' started by kazenatsu, Sep 3, 2018.

  1. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    He burst into wrong house while seeking a fugitive.
    http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/apr/29/vancouver-bail-bondsman-sentenced-to-15-years/
    No one was hurt, but he will have to spend the next 15 years in prison for the mistake.

    Honestly if the police were held to the standard as the rest of us...

    If a police officer did this, chances are they would most likely not even be charged. When it comes to bail bondsmen, and that's basically part of their job to apprehend fugitives, it gets into a tricky twilight zone area.

    If the police were held to the same standard as everyone else, I think it would become clear how ridiculous some of the laws are.
    It would probably make it very difficult for law enforcement to do their job, without being paranoid they could spend the next 15 years in prison for making a slip up.

    Deputy Prosecutor Dan Gasperino [...] said that the prosecution was put in a "tough spot" because Stomps refused to take any plea deal or accept responsibility for his actions.
    This shows the problem with inflexible laws that were not designed to handle certain situations. If someone demands to have a jury trial, they face the full penalties of the law, without the opportunity of a plea bargain to reduce the sentence down to what it should be.

    If this man is convicted of a felony (even if only sentenced to 1 year) it will mean an end to his career as a bail bondsman.

    It does make you wonder... If you were on a jury, would you choose to find the defendant guilty?

    If you knew that what he had done was technically against the law, and you believed he should be punished, but you knew that if you voted "guilty" it would mean he would end up getting a prison sentence far longer than what he deserved, that it would pretty much destroy his life.

    I'm not saying some punishment would not be appropriate. But the laws that are on the books are overly harsh, especially as it applies to this situation. I am not sure this mistake should mean a permanent end to this man's career, but that's what will happen if he gets a felony conviction. It's hard to spend your life going after fugitives without ever making any mistakes whatsoever.


    There was actually a previous old thread about this story, but I decided to start a new discussion in the Law & Justice section.
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2018
  2. reallybigjohnson

    reallybigjohnson Banned

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    Yeah not feeling sorry for him. He was a lazy **** who decided to take a shortcut instead of verify visually and positively that the target was in the house. Secondly, what kind of ****ing idiot just barges into a house without double checking the address with a quick google if they are going in to a potentially dangerous situation. Police are given wrong addresses all the time so this ******** should have taken the extra precautions knowing that he might not be in the right place. He refused the plea deal because ****tardo ****aroo is to much of an ******* to admit that he ****ed up.
     
  3. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Should law enforcement also be subject to these harsh penalties when they make mistakes?

    Or do they get a get out of jail free card because that's their job, and they were only trying to do their job? These are some dicey issues we have to ask ourselves.
    When your job involves busting into other people's houses with a gun, it's not difficult to go overboard and cross the line.
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2018

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