Catch Me if You Can - Our Broken Justice System
You know, one would wonder why the courts don't learn from past history that certain individuals, no matter how old they are, still have not learned what being "responsible" is all about... so they are probably not going to return on a pinky promise.
Case in point - Lenny Turner. January 5, 2015 a warrant was issued for him on a theft charge. It took 14 weeks and 5 days for the warrant to be served and Mr. Turner took up residency in the Jasper County Jail. He stayed in custody for 7 days at which time the judge on the case released him on a pinky promise (OR'd), and guess what -- it's another 26 weeks and 4 days before law enforcement of any kind sees Mr. Turner again. This time when Mr. Turner is returned to reside at the Jasper County Jail, he stays for 51 days (7 weeks 2 days) and is OR'd again. However he must have been in custody on some other charges because from what I can tell on case.net, he was in custody until he pled guilty on 5-4-16.
So this past weekend there was a vehicle pursuit that started in Newton County and ended up at Schifferdecker & Belle Center Road in Joplin, crashed into a fence. The driver remained in the car and LENNY TURNER fled on foot -- a private citizen chased him, knocked him to the ground, and detained him until officers arrived to take Mr. Turner into custody. Mr. Turner had not been seen in Jasper County Court since December 20, 2017 on 4 cases, 3 of them he was OR'd by the judges. That is 22 weeks and 6 days. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this boy's word is no good -- or am I blind.
Mr. Turner has racked up charges of DWI, Possession of a Controlled Substance, DWR/S, Unlawful Use of Drug Paraphernalia and Resisting Arrest - and not just one time. There is one charge in there that has always boggled my mind -- how do you unlawfully use drug paraphernalia?
On three of the cases the "state did not oppose" an OR. My next question is -- is there anyone in the court system, actually employed in the court system, that keeps track of the defendants who do not return on OR's? At some point the constituents of Jasper County are going to wake up and see that maybe one of the reasons that crime is on the uptake in the area is because the judges seem to believe these defendants will return for court just because they say they will. Really? And this is just one example.
Take care of each other out there. Happy Trails.
-Jasper County Jane
So this past weekend there was a vehicle pursuit that started in Newton County and ended up at Schifferdecker & Belle Center Road in Joplin, crashed into a fence. The driver remained in the car and LENNY TURNER fled on foot -- a private citizen chased him, knocked him to the ground, and detained him until officers arrived to take Mr. Turner into custody. Mr. Turner had not been seen in Jasper County Court since December 20, 2017 on 4 cases, 3 of them he was OR'd by the judges. That is 22 weeks and 6 days. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this boy's word is no good -- or am I blind.
Mr. Turner has racked up charges of DWI, Possession of a Controlled Substance, DWR/S, Unlawful Use of Drug Paraphernalia and Resisting Arrest - and not just one time. There is one charge in there that has always boggled my mind -- how do you unlawfully use drug paraphernalia?
On three of the cases the "state did not oppose" an OR. My next question is -- is there anyone in the court system, actually employed in the court system, that keeps track of the defendants who do not return on OR's? At some point the constituents of Jasper County are going to wake up and see that maybe one of the reasons that crime is on the uptake in the area is because the judges seem to believe these defendants will return for court just because they say they will. Really? And this is just one example.
Take care of each other out there. Happy Trails.
-Jasper County Jane
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