For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Bob Cooper
(208) 334-4112

Date: March 5, 2007

Kimball Mason To Serve Three to Ten Years for Six Felonies

(Boise) – Kimball W. Mason was ordered to serve at least three years and up to ten years in prison for two felony counts of grand theft by possession of stolen property and four counts of forgery. Senior District Judge William H. Woodland sentenced Mason today in Seventh District Court in Idaho Falls. Judge Woodland ordered Mason to serve these sentences concurrently, beginning at the conclusion of Mason’s previous sentence of one to five years.

On September 6, 2006, the Attorney General filed a criminal complaint charging Mason with seven counts of grand theft by possession of stolen property and six counts of forgery or, alternatively, falsifying a public record.

On February 5, 2007, Mason entered pleas of guilty to two counts of grand theft by possession of stolen property and four counts of forgery. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the Attorney General dismissed the remaining seven counts. The plea agreement precluded Mason from seeking a withheld judgment.

By pleading guilty, Mason admitted to the allegations in six counts of the Information filed with the court. Those allegations are as follows:

  • Count 1 alleges that, on or about May 5, 2006, Mason knowingly possessed a stolen Berretta .22 caliber model 21 semi-automatic pistol that was the property of the City of Idaho Falls.
  • Count 2 alleges that, on or about May 5, 2006, Mason knowingly possessed a stolen Jennings .22 caliber model J-22 semi-automatic pistol that was the property of the City of Idaho Falls.
  • Count 8 alleges that, on or about May 25, 2004, Mason falsified a record of a judgment of a court by using Magistrate Judge L. Mark Riddoch’s signature stamp, without the judge’s authority or approval, on a court order purporting to forfeit a firearm to the Idaho Falls City Prosecutor’s Office.
  • Count 9 alleges that, on or about October 3, 2002, Mason falsified a record of a judgment of a court by using Judge Riddoch’s signature stamp, without the judge’s authority or approval, on a court order purporting to forfeit a firearm to the Idaho Falls City Prosecutor’s Office.
  • Count 10 alleges that, on or about September 4, 2003, Mason falsified a record of a judgment of a court by using Magistrate Judge Keith M. Walker’s signature stamp, without the judge’s authority or approval, on an order purporting to forfeit a firearm to the Idaho Falls City Prosecutor’s Office.
  • Count 11 alleges that, on or about August 29, 2002, Mason falsified a record of a judgment of a court by using Judge Walker’s signature stamp, without the judge’s authority or approval, on a court order purporting to forfeit a shotgun to the Idaho Falls City Prosecutor’s Office.

During a court hearing on February 5, 2007, Mason also admitted to using judges’ signature stamps, without authorization, on numerous orders for payment of legal fees to Mason in mental commitment proceedings he handled for six other counties.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, the Attorney General will not file additional charges against Mason. The Attorney General has notified the prosecuting attorneys in Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison, Lemhi and Teton Counties of the terms of the agreement and that charges will not be filed in their counties.

Following today’s sentencing hearing, the Attorney General released redacted copies of the records of the three separate investigations into Mason’s conduct. To obtain a copy of the records on compact disc, interested citizens should submit a written request for the records of the Kimball Mason investigations addressed to: Public Records Request, Office of the Attorney General, 700 W. State St., P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0010.

BACKGROUND

On April 19, 2006, Mason entered a plea of guilty to two felony counts of grand theft and one felony charge of falsifying a public record. Those charges related to Mason’s unlawfully taking possession of firearms from the Idaho Falls Police Department evidence custodian and to Mason falsifying a court order authorizing the release of a firearm and other property to himself.

Mason also admitted in court that he had stolen 16 other weapons from the Idaho Falls Police Department. He also agreed to truthfully disclose the disposition of other weapons that had been turned over to his possession and that could not be accounted for in the investigation. Mason told the Attorney General’s investigator that all of those guns had been destroyed.

On May 30, 2006, Judge Woodland sentenced Mason to three concurrent one to five year prison sentences.

On the day following Mason’s sentencing, the Idaho Falls Police Department received a tip that Mason’s family had been seen removing weapons from the residence of Idaho Falls attorney John Stosich. Subsequently, the Attorney General obtained a search warrant for Mason’s home. During that search, 12 guns that had been taken from the Idaho Falls Police evidence room by Mason were recovered. Four of the guns that Mason told the Attorney General’s investigator he had destroyed were among the items recovered.

The discovery of these weapons and additional investigation led the Attorney General to file the 13 new charges on September 6, 2006. The first seven of those charges alleged that Mason was in possession of four of the missing guns from the initial investigation and three other guns taken from the Idaho Falls Police Department. The remaining six charges in the September 6, 2006, complaint alleged that Mason used judges’ signature stamps on orders forfeiting firearms to the Idaho Falls City Prosecutor’s Office. That complaint alleged that Mason used the signature stamps without the authority or approval of the judges.

The Attorney General’s Criminal Law Division served as special prosecutor in the Mason cases at the request of Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Dane Watkins, Jr.

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