Posted on 02/21/2011 11:04:08 AM PST by jaydubya2
LA PORTE A La Porte man will go to jail for pretending with his finger to shoot at police.
James Walpole, 57, was given 150 days in the La Porte County Jail and 30 days on probation.
He pleaded guilty to Class D felony intimidation.
On Dec. 20, La Porte Police twice responded to an apartment on Maple Avenue where Walpole lived with his ex-wife, according to court documents. Initially, Walpole was accused of grabbing the womans arm.
Officers less than an hour later were called back when he allegedly threw shoes and other items at her. According to court documents, Walpole told officers he would resist any attempts to arrest him. He quickly raised his hand and with his index finger pointed at Officer Jason Sponaugle and said, Bang, bang, according to police.
Walpole began resisting when informed he was being arrested and it took help from another officer to force him down to a couch. He kept putting up a physical struggle until Tasered, police said.
While being booked at the La Porte County Jail, he told La Porte Police Officer Robert Greer Youre on the top of my list, according to court documents.
Walpole, throughout the proceedings, used a hearing aid to understand Judge Tom Alevizos.
He could have faced an up to three-year sentence.
In exchange for the plea, another count of intimidation was dismissed. La Porte Police Assistant Chief Tom Heath said what Walpole did with his finger is not viewed by law enforcement as a joke given the dangers officers routinely face.
Its very inappropriate conduct. I applaud the court for taking the action that it did, Heath said.
Yep. And they have a nicely dumbed-down populace to impose their tyranny on. Most people walking around don’t have the first clue as to what their rights are.
Again, he was sentenced for ‘intimidation’—the finger trick—not for violence against the officers or anyone else. If you know anything about domestics calls, you’d know that in many cases 2 times is nothing. So the bottom line is, this clown is serving time for a finger thing and telling the powers that be they would never arrest him. Justice is served on the taxpayer’s dime...for finger intimidation.
Physically resisting arrest and threatening a police officer. But never mind the details.
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