Let me get this straight.Benjamin Terril -- the Buchtel High Science teacher who pointed a loaded gun at another man's head and whose home was called a "personal arsenal" by police -- is back on the streets after spending just hours behind bars.
According to jail records, Terril was booked in to custody on the evening of Sept. 1 charged with three felonies. He posted $1,000 bond 36 hours later and was released on Sept. 3rd.
36 hours? $1,000 bond? That's it?
Consider this:
- Police say Terril took a loaded handgun and pointed it at the head of another man on Terril's front porch.
- In front of terrified neighbors, Terril made the man walk a line and threatened to blow his head off.
- Police say Terril was heavily intoxicated and also possessed marijuana.
- Investigators seized more than two dozen weapons from Terril's home, including some believed to be illegal, while leaving behind all of the ammunition.
- Terril was charged with three felonies, including carrying a concealed weapon.
- Terril's record includes convictions for Carrying a Concealed Weapon and also an arrest for assaulting a police officer in another state, local police said.
The supervised release sheet (you can view it on-line) that Terril signed before leaving jail states that he must have weekly visits with the county's supervised release office .. and that he also agree to random drug and alcohol testing.
No home incarceration or ankle monitoring.
Additionally .. what's odd to me is that the info about staying away from potential victims in the case was not checked by the judge. In other words, the court -- while releasing Terril -- did not order him to stay away from the man who faced Terril's gun just two nights prior.
How well would you sleep if you were that guy?
$1,000 and 36 hours in jail .. and now he's back on the streets?
Realizing suspects are innocent until proven guilty, is anyone else really, really surprised by how quickly someone charged with this type of crime is out?
I'd really like some community thoughts here ... Eric
2 comments:
As per usual the system never works the way its suppose to. He has prior records, which dont make him guilty of this, but shows that he has acted illegally in the past. If and when he does violate the terms set out by the court, or confronts this man again, then what will the judge say? How will he face the family of the person who he actually does shoot and kill the next time he goes on a drunken rampage!!! This just angers me the more I read it. Shame on everyone involved in this mans arrest and release for giving him this window of opportunity to commit the crime again!
Eric,
Maybe the public deserves to know which judge is putting someone like this back on the streets so quickly?
Is this a judge currently seeking re-election?
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