Misdeeds do indeed pay in Bonner County

I read with great interest Keith Kinnaird’s article on the forger who got a 90-day sentence. We had a very similar experience with Danielle Bolden, who stole about $12,000 from our company. The big problem is the prosecutor’s office and judicial system are extremely prejudiced against the victims.

From the beginning, we were encouraged by the sheriff’s office not to pursue prosecution because it would not likely do anything. How right they were.

We handed the prosecuting attorney a slam dunk case with a confession costing my company about $25,000 to obtain, and he stood up in court and stated:

1) We were in the wrong for hiring this person;

2) He felt very sorry for her because he knew she as a drug addict from the last time he had prosecuted her for a felony; and

3) Since it could cost the state $25,000 per year to incarcerate her, he thought the four-year suspended prison sentence with 120 days of city jail time as OK.

We spent about two months gathering evidence and with reasonable certainty could prove she took about $12,000. In her confession, she stated she thought it was about $4,500. The judge and prosecutor believed her over our evidence and made the restitution $4,500. By my calculations she will be getting $1,875 for every month she spends in city jail.

What really sickened me was the judge fawning over this four-time convicted felon, saying he admired her for trying to get her life back together. If we had gotten more than one hour’s notice of the sentencing, we could have produced witnesses who would have testified that she was still trying to buy drugs during the two months she was enrolled in Port of Hope. And that she was bragging she had the judge in the “palm of her hand.” Two days later, I read where two defendants in Coeur d’Alene up on drunken driving charges for the second time received a year each in prison along with a $750 and $1,000 fine. Just goes to show you what our system considers the more serious offense. What happened to three strikes and you’re out?

PATRICK N. FERRICK

Sagle