I've talked before about judges and prosecutors "hugging thugs" as they move through the court system. However forget "hug-a-thug" and wrists slaps in Waukesha. Now, they're practically French kissing crooks.
Almost a year ago, Mitchell Timm used bolt cutters to gain access to the football field at Brookfield East High School. Driving a vehicle on loan from a local car dealership, Timm drove across the field leaving large ruts. Brookfield East was ultimately forced to move two of its football games while the field was repaired. All in all, the damage approached $30,000.
Last Friday, Timm was sentenced in Waukesha County Circuit Court by Reserve Judge Neal Nettesheim after being convicted of damaging the field. His penalty for all the havoc he caused? Timm was put on probation for a period of three years. That's right - probation.
Judge Nettesheim is a retired Appellate Court Judge who is hired to hear cases and is not accountable to voters. The District Attorney in Waukesha County (who is accountable to voters) is Brad Schimel, a career prosecutor who is developing a reputation as being considerably more forgiving to criminals than his predecessor.
In any event, despite the best efforts of the Waukesha County Court system, Timm won't be out of the streets immediately. That's because while this case was pending, Timm got himself convicted of car theft and escape. As a result, he finds himself a guest of the taxpayers of the State of Wisconsin for a least a little bit.
The point though is that he has essentially gotten off scot free for his vandalism at Brookfield East.
I know that there will be an order of restitution. My guess though is that the liklihood the school ever sees a dime is slim to none. I also realize that if Timm violates his probation, he can go to jail. This order is pretty much pointless though because he'll already be being "supervised" for the offenses that have him presently incarcerated.
The truth is that this sentence was just about as meaningless as it could possibly have been. Essentially, Timm destroyed a football field, inconvenienced thousands of people and will suffer absolutely no consequences.
It's absolutely beyond me why some judges and prosecutors in Waukesha have decided to start giving big, sloppy, open-mouthed wet kisses to local criminals?
Officials might think that this approach to crime fighting will make them loved. Maybe. I think it's more likely though that punks like Mitchell Timm simply won't respect them in the morning.
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