Attorney General Defends Commissioner Mitchell Plea Deal After Sheriff Calls it 'Embarrassing'
The Montana Department of Justice is defending a plea deal it reached with Flathead County Commissioner Phil Mitchell that Sheriff Chuck Curry called “embarrassing.”
Mitchell is expected to plead guilty next week to misdemeanor criminal mischief, nearly a year after he destroyed six county-owned trees at a park near his home on Whitefish Lake. Because Mitchell caused approximately $30,000 worth of damage, he was charged with a felony. In a plea agreement between state prosecutors and the defense, the felony is reduced to a misdemeanor.
On Thursday, Curry called the plea deal an “embarrassment” and worried that it would appear as if Mitchell was being let off easy because he’s an elected official.
“When you are a public official and you commit a crime against the public that you represent you should be held responsible and that clearly has not happened in this case,” Curry told the Beacon.
Read more: http://flatheadbeacon.com/2018/05/04/attorney-general-defends-commissioner-mitchell-plea-deal-sheriff-calls-embarrassing/