This was a battery case that occurred at Cowgirls in Kuna. “Victim” claimed Mr. Sandoval asked him for a cigarette in the parking lot. “Victim” claimed when he refused, Mr. Sandoval punched him in the face. “Victim’s” friend testified similarly. Mr. Sandoval testified at trial and thus his prior felony status was used to impeach him. Decision after trial: NOT GUILTY.
Read more...This was a battery case that occurred in the parking lot of Ross in Meridian. “Victim” claimed she accidentally stepped on Ms. Cassidy’s foot on the way into the store so Ms. Cassidy grabbed her wrist and twisted it. She produced an array of photos depicting bruising of her entire forearm. Despite these facts, the jury found Ms. Cassidy NOT GUILTY.
Read more...In this case, Mr. Steinbach was accused of stealing hundreds of dollars worth of hay from an ex-girlfriend. The ex’s neighbor testified that he saw Mr. Steinbach pull up to the property on numerous occasions and load hay into his truck. At trial the defense got the ex to admit that Mr. Steinbach had in fact boarded her horse for free for an extended period of time and that it was absurd to believe she had not offered the hay to Mr. Steinbach in return. Lover’s spat ended in a NOT GUILTY verdict.
Read more...Mr. Winkler was a passenger with a group of friends cruising around at night when workers at a Jack in the Box called in the vehicle as possible DUI. When officers had Mr. Winkler exit the vehicle they found a full can of beer under his seat as well as an empty and a wet spot. Mr. Winkler was adamant he knew nothing of the beer under the seat. The defense argued that the car had numerous kids getting in and out all night and without an admission, there was not enough evidence to prove Mr. Winkler ever “knowingly possessed or consumed” any alcohol. NOT GUILTY
Read more...Mr. Hastings was heading into downtown Boise via the connector. He was speeding and got off at the River Street exit after passing the officer. When Mr. Hastings passed the officer, the officer never turned on his lights, siren or made any gesture to pull over. The officer eventually pulled over Mr. Hastings who admitted he was running late and pulled off the next exit to avoid detection. The defense argued that without any command to pull over, if the jury found R & O in this case, everyone is guilty who looks down at their speedometer, sees they are over the speed limit and does not immediately...
Read more...Ms. Boelter was accused of slashing her ex’s tire. She was only identified by the ex’s new girlfriend. This alone created credibility issues. New girlfriend testified that she heard a loud pop and then pssss before seeing Ms. Boelter fleeing. The defense argued it is ridiculous to hear a violent pop followed by the sound of air escaping through a tiny hole. This argument coupled with the obvious bias of the witness resulted in a swift NOT GUILTY verdict.
Read more...Mr. Barker was an African American male whose suburban was found crashed into a house whose occupants saw a black male running from the incident down a dead end road. Mr. Barker called the vehicle in as stolen the following morning and noted to police that it could start without a key. During trial there was testimony that Mr. Barker lived in an apartment complex at the end of the dead end road. He maintained that he was not the driver and he had numerous acquaintances who knew the car started without a key. NOT GUILTY
Read more...In this case Ms. Mwanthi was on felony probation and was facing a probation violation solely for this new charge. Ms. Mwanthi had a rocky relationship with her apartment neighbors. They claimed she retaliated by keying their truck and that they witnessed the whole thing through the door’s peephole. After detailed cross-examination, the defense found numerous holes in the neighbors’ version of events and exposed their deep bias toward Ms. Mwanthi. NOT GUILTY
Read more...Mr. Warf spent a lot of time at a friend’s house who still lived with his mom. Mom did not like Mr. Warf and told him he was no longer welcome in the home. Mr. Warf’s friend maintained that Mr. Warf was still welcome as it was his house too. The State was adamant that only the “owner” of a dwelling can give consent to enter the dwelling. The defense made it clear that the statute is not so narrow but also lets any person “in lawful possession” of the dwelling to give consent. Unless the son was a trespasser, he was in lawful possession of the dwelling. In fact every day police...
Read more...Mr. Yekel was accused of helping a minor girl violate curfew and leaving the scene of an accident. He maintained that he let the girl use his car and thus was not driving her around after curfew nor the one who left the scene. NOT GUILTY
Read more...Ms. Mills worked as a line locator for underground utilities. One day she was doing her job when a great dane startled her over a short fence. She waved the paint can at the dog in an effort to back it down. The dog’s owner called the police and gave them the number on Ms. Mills’ vehicle. The officer called Ms. Mills and said she would like to interview her regarding the incident. Ms. Mills said she would come down but never did. For exercising her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, the officer added the charge of R & O. This charge was correctly dismissed prior to trial. The animal...
Read more...