The Idaho inmate who spoke to the Statesman said prosecutors were retaliating. A judge just ruled

An Ada County judge ruled against an Idaho inmate who argued that the last felony charge prosecutors brought against him was retaliation for a conversation with the Idaho Statesman.

Bobby Templin, 34, incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution south of Boise, said the new felony charge he faces two months after a Statesman story was published was an act of retaliation by prosecutors and asked the judge to dismiss it. fee. templin Featured in a Statesman article About his broken hand in October 2023 and his request to seek medical attention that went unanswered for several months.

Fourth Judicial District Judge Cynthia Yee-Wallace was not convinced.

In the 28-page order, Yee-Wallace wrote that there was no evidence that the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office engaged in “vindictive prosecution.” He concluded that the prosecution’s decision to charge Templin with a felony was not because he spoke to the Statesman about the medical care he received while in prison.

“In short, the record before the court does not reveal any facts that would suggest that there was a realistic possibility of prosecutorial retribution in this case,” Yee-Wallace wrote. “The court therefore finds that defendant failed to show that the prosecutor conducted a vindictive investigation in this case, and Templin’s motion to dismiss is denied.”

In January 2023, Templin suffered a broken thumb following a fight at the Idaho State Penitentiary. While Templin told the Statesman this occurred while prison officers were restraining him, the IDOC report noted that he punched a wall after being taken into custody.

Records showed that despite Templin’s repeated calls for help, IDOC would not take Templin to a specialist for six months. By then, an expert said permanent damage had probably been done.

The Ada County District Attorney’s Office charged Templin with a felony count of a corrections officer in December 2023, two months after the story was published; This could keep him in prison for another five years if convicted. Templin had been under investigation by the Ada County Sheriff’s Office since the January 2023 fight for allegedly striking a corrections officer.

But Templin’s lawyer called the timing suspect.

Mike French, a Boise-based attorney, filed a motion to dismiss the charge against Templin, arguing that his client was retaliated against because he “dared to speak out against the persistent medical neglect to which he was subjected” by the Idaho Department of Corrections. .

Prosecutors also sought a persistent violation enhancement against Templin, which could add at least five more years to his prison sentence. Prosecutors can pursue charges after someone is convicted of three felonies. Templin’s other felony convictions are for possession of a controlled substance and grand larceny.

Judge: ‘No evidence’ of retaliation

When a fight broke out at the Idaho Department of Corrections’ Kuna prison in January 2023, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office was called to conduct the investigation. Ada County Detective Alex McCray investigated Templin’s claim that he struck an IDOC officer in the neck and head that day. The officer had no injuries or required medical attention, according to court records.

IDOC identified a total of 13 people who participated in the fight. The Statesman’s review of court records showed Templin was the only person charged in connection with the fight.

Despite contacting IDOC three times, McCray told the court he did not receive investigative materials related to Templin’s case until Oct. 5, 2023. He said the delay is not uncommon in IDOC cases. That was the day a Statesman reporter emailed an IDOC spokesperson, requesting an interview about the agency’s medical practices.

A day after McCray received the files, IDOC Chief Investigator Nicole Fraser emailed McCray’s superior, Ada County Sgt. He asked for a timeline on when Bill Weires and Yee-Wallace plan to close the case, according to his order.

“We have a news outlet requesting information regarding this case,” Fraser wrote, later adding that he needed “this information” as soon as possible. The newspaper published the article a week later.

McCray said during the August hearing that he felt no pressure from IDOC or the Sheriff’s Office to take the case to the DA’s Office and that he treated the case no differently than any case he had received from IDOC. He added that no one from IDOC suggested Templin should be prosecuted on the charges, and no one from the DA’s Office received information about the case until McCray submitted the matter for review.

But IDOC officials only began contacting the Sheriff’s Office after learning Templin had spoken to the Statesman, French said.

Yee-Wallace said there was “no evidence” that the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office was aware of these emails, adding that he “will not impute or attribute” the actions of IDOC or the Sheriff’s Office to prosecutors in the Templin case.

“Similarly, there is no evidence or support related to the prosecutor’s decision to charge Templin in this case because of Templin’s medical care,” Yee-Wallace wrote.

Templin’s prison sentence ends in February, but he will likely be sent to Ada County Jail if his new charges are not resolved by then.

For now, Templin spends most of his days in a solitary cell. state’s highest security prison. His next hearing will be held at Ada County Courthouse on December 10 at 11:00.