FARGO, ND – The Cass County State’s Attorney says that while some break laws and are released and then are placed back into custody shortly after, it’s not always the case.
And law enforcement officers are sometimes frustrated with the circumstances.
“I can understand law enforcement’s frustration, for sure,” Cass County State’s Attorney Kim Hegvik told WDAY Radio’s The Jay Thomas Show. “Because they’re the ones that are out on the front lines every day interacting with people.”
Pleading down more severe cases, then reoffending
A recent shooting murder in downtown Fargo is making headlines as the suspect, Tyrque Jones, who as of Thursday is still on the run, was charged with a felony level case and then pled down to a misdemeanor.
After the case was heard in Cass County District Court, Jones’ case was deemed a deemed a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail with credit for one day served and a year of supervised probation, which he was still on when he committed the crimes on early Sunday morning.
Hegvik said her office relies on the evidence in each case when determining whether or not a charge that was forwarded can be proven ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ in court.
“Law enforcement will send a report over to us and what will first appear to be one crime, as we’re looking into it, and digging into the facts of the case, watching the footage, it might be that we no longer believe that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt what we first thought we might be able to,” she said.
She said the state’s attorney’s office then has ‘an ethical obligation’ to amend the charge.
When asked if it happens often, she said it occasionally does.
“A lot of things can come into play,” Hegvik said. “Our cases seldom get better the more we look and dig into cases. We might find out that, in the commission of that crime, maybe the people that were the victims, that we initially thought were the victims, were actually somewhat responsible.”
She said the office may also determine that the victim may not want to participate in the process – or that witnesses that are being sought may not be able to be located.
“All of those things come into play when we’re trying to determine what the most just and fair resolution of a case might be,” Hegvik said.
Some cases ‘are getting the right punishment
Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner, appearing on The Jay Thomas Show, said it’s ‘time to draw a stronger line’ when it comes to punishment.
Hegvik said some cases the right punishment is happening in certain cases.
In the case of former Cass County Deputy Darin Viken, Jahner previously had criticized the sentence the court handed down in the case.
Hegvik said her office ‘conflicted out of that case,’ asking another office to prosecute it.
She said, however, that Viken’s behavior ‘was atrocious.’
“I’m just sick for those poor women who were in a vulnerable position,” Hegvik said.
She said North Dakota doesn’t have a law encompasses Viken’s behavior, other than Class B misdemeanors. They carry a sentence of up to 30 days in jail.
“Is that appropriate,” she questioned. “That’s maybe something you could call your legislators about and say, ‘Hey, we need a crime, in our Century Code, that says, ‘If you are in a position of power, and you commit a crime like this, that it’s worthy of something more than a B misdemeanor.”
