As usual, we don’t know the complete and exact circumstances surrounding the crime in question. 2timesdispatch.com has only this to say on the facts: “In his home on May 4, 2010, Joseph Henry Boggs Sr. was on his feet when he pulled a .38-caliber revolver on special agents of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service when they arrived while investigating Boggs’ son-in-law. The agents drew their weapons in response, but no shots were fired. Boggs eventually lowered his gun and walked away from the confrontation.” No harm no foul? No frickin’ way . . .
He pleaded guilty March 1 to assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer and was facing up to 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Because of Boggs’ age and health, prosecutors asked for just five months in prison.
Boggs suffers from heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. David T. Maguire, an assistant U.S.attorney, told Payne that prison time was necessary to send a serious message of deterrence.
But Payne questioned whether five months in prison was a serious enough message and said taxpayers would have to bear the cost of his medical care. “If it weren’t for his health … he’d be in prison. There isn’t any question of that,” Payne said.
In asking for a lenient sentence, Boggs’ lawyer also cited Boggs’ service in the Army from 1949 to 1952. He was wounded in his legs by shrapnel in the Korean conflict . . .
Payne sentenced Boggs to five years of probation and one year of home confinement and then fined him the maximum allowed in an effort to deter others from committing similar crimes.
The judge said Boggs can pay at least $1,000 a month or 25 percent of his gross income — whichever is greater — until the fine has been satisfied.
“You are a hair’s breadth from prison right now,” Payne told Boggs. “There will be no second chance and don’t think otherwise.”
OK, so, why did Boggs pull the gun? What were the Office of Inspector General’s Defense Department investigators investigating? Does the elderly Mr. Boggs have a criminal record?
We’ve emailed the article’s author for clarification. Meanwhile, that’s a pretty heavy bitch slapping for an old man brandishing a revolver. Just sayin’.