IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) -- A judge ordered a former prosecutor who stole weapons from this eastern Idaho city's police evidence locker to serve his full one- to five-year prison sentence Tuesday after determining he lied in a plea-bargain deal that would have let him out of jail by Jan. 1.
Kimball Mason, 52, agreed to plead guilty to three felony charges -- one count of falsifying a public document and two counts of grand theft -- after signing a plea deal March 16 with the Idaho attorney general's office. While he worked as Idaho Falls prosecutor, investigators say Mason stole 51 guns from the police department's evidence locker beginning in 2001.
As part of his plea deal, Mason was given immunity from further prosecution in return for cooperating with investigators who were trying to trace other weapons that were found to be missing from police storage.
Mason was sentenced in May to one to five years in prison. Sixth District Judge William H. Woodland retained jurisdiction over the case and allowed Mason to serve six months in a minimum-security prison.
But prosecutors argued that Mason should serve the full sentence and that his immunity provision was nullified after Mason lied about how many guns he had stolen. Several weapons that Mason told investigators he had destroyed instead were discovered in a June 2 search of his home, which yielded 40 stolen guns -- along with knives, brass knuckles and daggers. The discovery of the stolen weapons that had been under police department lock and key prompted Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden to level 13 new felony charges against Mason.
Mason has pleaded not guilty to the new charges and a trial has been set for February.
Details here from the Jackson Hole Star Tribune.