Man stuck with felony conviction

SANDPOINT — The Idaho Court of Appeals is declining to paper over a felony conviction against a man who attacked his girlfriend in Bonner County in 2009.

Lonnie Lee Allen was charged with second-degree kidnapping and attempted strangulation after attacking the 40-year-old woman as he drove down U.S. Highway 2 near Dover.

Allen entered an Alford plea to attempted strangulation and the kidnapping charge was dropped in exchange. Under such a plea, a defendant admits no wrongdoing, but the conviction remains on his record.

Allen was given a suspended prison sentence and later admitted violating the terms of his probation, resulting in an eight-day stint at the Bonner County Jail.

Allen ultimately moved for the conviction to be set aside or reduced to a misdemeanor because his criminal record was thwarting his efforts to land a new job. First District Judge Steve Verby denied the requests, finding that a reduction of Allen’s felony conviction was incompatible with the public interest.

Allen, 43, also filed motions for reconsideration and a motion to seal his criminal file. But Verby denied those motions as well.

On appeal, Allen argued that the court abused its discretion in declining to reduce the felony conviction or keep his criminal file from being viewed by the public.

Appellate Judge Pro Tem Jesse Walters found that Verby should have first determined Allen’s eligibility for a reduction in light of the probation violation before considering the public interest question. However, the oversight afforded Allen no relief on appeal because he admitted violating probation.

Walters further ruled that there was no abuse of discretion in the lower court’s denial of the motion to seal the record and Allen was unable to explain how it would have made a difference anyway.

“Clearly, absent a dismissal or reduction of the felony conviction, Allen would still be required to disclose to prospective employers that he was a convicted felon, regardless of whether his file was sealed,” Walters wrote.

Appeals judges Karen Lansing and John Melanson concurred.