And on the rare occasions when it does happen, the case is fixed in a crooked court.
Gun case against Illinois trooper is dropped
By Robert Patrick
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/25/2007
http://tinyurl.com/ysg82l
Federal prosecutors dropped the criminal case against the last of three Illinois State Police officers accused of federal machine-gun law violations � and signaled Tuesday that charges against a fourth man may soon be addressed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Crowe dismissed a charge of illegal possession of a machine gun against Special Agent John Yard of Collinsville. Crowe said Yard accepted responsibility and entered a "pretrial diversion" in exchange for the dismissal. Under its terms, Yard must complete 30 hours of community service with the U.S. attorney's office.
Charges against Sgt. James Vest of O'Fallon and Senior Master Trooper Greg Mugge of Jerseyville were dismissed previously.
Yard and Vest were relieved of duty with pay pending an administrative review, a department spokesman said last week. Mugge has retired.
U.S. District Judge Michael J. Reagan offered in Tuesday's hearing to write Yard a letter of support, and asked if he had his job back. "I believe so," the trooper responded.
Yard and Crowe declined to comment after the hearing.
Yard's lawyer, Bill Lucco, said later, "I think it's a good ending to a strange and bizarre journey." He said the pretrial diversion was unlikely to hurt Yard's chance of returning to duty. "It's not even like supervision on a speeding ticket," Lucco explained.
The three troopers and a doctor from Spaulding, Ill., were indicted last year after officers were seen with automatic AR-15 and M-4 rifles at the Greenville federal prison firing range.
The prosecution of the officers collapsed after Vest raised an exception for police in the machine-gun law, and U.S. District Judge David R. Herndon ruled last year that it was "unconstitutionally vague."
The case against Dr. Harold Griffiths is set for trial in August. Asked by Reagan if there had been discussions with that defendant, Crowe said, "There have been communications, but they haven't been by me."
rpatrick@post-dispatch.com | 314-621-5154
‘The world is so vague’ in the courts when it comes to elite treatment of the elite. Personally, I think fully auto weapons are OK to be owned by competent (sane) individuals who without a doubt have the weapons secured (locked up)when not practicing or being used for self-defense. Never know when the community you live in is going to be overrun by meth addicted illegals and their gangs.