Men get six months in jail for stealing food from trash

I think everyone knows how I feel about the RF, however, this is ridiculous...6 months in jail for dumpster diving? And to add insult to injury, they are to PAY $15 for resbreastution? This is an absurd waste of taxpayers money. Why does that beady eyed little weasle of a DA always throw the book at the little guy and give a pat on the back to the REAL criminals? It's no wonder there is such a high turnover in that office.

Better men have been lined up against stone walls. St James should be publicly flogged for this one and Sweet Pea has now turned sour. Never again will my family step foot in there again. Mr big mighty and powerful St. James is an idiot. To take six months of these kids life away for this is a crime. Give an inch weasel some power and look what happens. A "get out of the dumpster and move on" would probably been more appropriate solution. I am blown away and ashamed to have my tax $$$ wasted. These kids need to go home now and St James needs to go away, far away.

These two "criminals" retrieved food that had been discarded - thrown away and abandoned in a trash can by the people at Sweet Pea. All of a sudden this garbage is of such value that it warrants sending two people to jail for 6 months? (It should also be noted that a felony conviction can never be expunged - IT STAYS WITH YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE).

The real tragedy lays at the feet of Mr. St. James and Jonathon Hieb, the owner of Sweet Pea Produce. Why someone would be so quick to take away someone's freedom and lock them away over something like this speaks volumes for the kind of persons they are. It also speaks volumes of our community if we believe this kind of behavior is O.K. for our fellow citizens and public employees.

Mr. St. James certainly would not have prosecuted if Mr. Hieb had not been willing (and wanting) to press charges. Up to this point Mr. Hieb has appeared to be a responsible and active member of our business community so his apparent willfulness in pressing charges is a bit disconcerting. On the other hand Mr. St. James behavior is not surprising. This past May he had submitted himself as a candidate for the vacated position of the 14th Judicial District judge. He did not even make the first cut. It is obvious that his history of questionable decisions, such as this one, have not gone unnoticed. It is time that Bonnie Roesink take note as well. Perhaps if Mr. Hieb thinks so highly of Mr. St. James he might offer him a position at his store.

As noted in the article Jonathon Hieb is refusing to comment and Mr. St. James is refusing to face any form of hard questioning. Both can easily claim they are doing little more than upholding their legal rights. But at the same time they have both abandoned their moral rights. No doubt they may not be very proud of what they have done as there is little doubt that our community is not very proud of either one of them.

The victims of this incident are not Sweet Pea Produce. The true victims are Giles Charle and David Siller. Had they had a Steamboat zip code nothing would have happened. Actually their biggest mistake was to admit they were heading to the Rainbow gathering. Once this became known to Mr. St. James and the owner of Sweet Pea their fate was sealed. If only they had said they were in town to shop for a condo.

Not a surprising decision by the DA's office. The technique of zealously overcharging criminal behavior to force a plea agreement to a lesser misdemeanor charge is often used against those that may not have the financial means to fight back. On the other hand, if a wealthy or influential community member drives drunk while pulling a trailer or criminally trespbuttes when a store is closed for business, the charges magically vanish.

The responsibility for felony charging lies with the DA's office and, specifically with St. James as the senior prosecutor for Routt County. Ms. Roesink has made it crystal clear that St. James is here to stay, despite the recurring turnover of Deputy District Attorneys in his office. This alone should suggest something's amiss, and I'm surprised that the paper has taken so long to recognize the trend.

Just think, only two more years until the next DA election! Maybe this time someone will run against Roesink and the voters will have a choice.

"felony with 90 days in jail or a misdemeanor conviction with six months in jail"????

What kind of justice system is this? Are you people aware of what you are saying and doing to innocent people?