Sir, I respectfully disengage in this pointless discussion. My core argument is that a prosecutor can be wrong and you insist he/she can't . Not gonna endlessly try to get you to admit it.

I said I WOULDN'T but I DID. Took me 10 seconds to find this. There's a TON on Google. firedupmissouri.com/Coopers_sweetheart_deal JUst type in "prosecutor's sweetheart plea" There are PAGES of cases. Now whast? They're All LYING!!!!???

Ah, you do want to play. Ok.

From your link: "Republican U.S. Attorney Hanaway gave a sweet deal to Republican Representative Cooper in return for his help with a prosecution which has never and will never take place."

This is obviously a corrupt deal, but has nothing to do with maintaining conviction rates due to political ambition.

I originally said the prosecutor in the original case probably had a weak case and so had to plead it out. I don't see what's so offensive about that!

You seem to think the light sentence is because the prosecutor is corrupt -- seems an awful lot like second-guessing! I think you should bear the burden if you're going to come out and call someone corrupt or accuse them of having ulterior motives. Sorry, I don't plan on believing you unquestioningly.

Get a room!!!!

You can't "get this straight" because you don't have all the facts.

Nice story but it didn't actually happen exactly that way.

Will you join us?

not with this pillow talk

I'm not really surprised, mostly because I've been to Asheville before. Different though-processes.

There's a thread about this in A&S as well.

Things in the shooter's favor: he was a firefighter, no criminal record, officials testified for his character, claims that he shot only after physically confronted by the rider, shot supposedly in warning only, and in the end, only superficially wounded the rider.

I'm thankful he's seeing any time at all. Chances are just as good that he could have got off with much less and no time. Remember, he still has a felony conviction on his record, so:
- 120 days in jail. Ever spend time in jail? Might not be a lot, but it will probably suck worse than not being in jail...
- no guns. Hope he didn't hunt (firefighter in NC--what are the chances...?). He liked 'em enough to conceal carry, bet he's got more than just the one he used perpetrating this particular crime--so long hobby/lifestyle.
- no job. Fired Aug 10, won't pass a background check, has to report violent, gun-related felony conviction on job apps, cannot get a job in his chosen field, or police, or the military.
- can't vote. Not for 30 mos in NC, not ever in 12 states in the nation.
- on parole/probation for 30 mos means random drug and alcohol testing if authorities feel it is justified, warrantless searches of his house whenever the Law says, travel only by permission, and even then many foreign countries, like Canada, will not let him enter.

Oh yeah, he totally wrecked his life, no doubt. Not to mention the associated legal fees. I'll shed not one tear for him, nor feel much sympathy at all. But his sentence is far from as lenient as it could have been.

Get a room? You gotta be kidding. Where's the popcorn.....




VS.

What america are you living in? This statement is fictional by all accounts. The Prosectuor had a witness, a Gun, a motive, and helmet with a bullet hole in it, a caseing shell, and more.

Lawyers relationships and influence with the Prosecutor make a world of difference. I am willing to bet in fact that this Diaz guy had a top notch lawyer that most likely was golf buddies with the prosecutor. And in fact is was Diaz's history himself that palyed a world of difference here. No criminal record, almost 2 decades with the fire department, former public servant..and so forth.

This was stated in the papers artical about the sentanceing....
Downs ruled that mitigating factors present for sentencing purposes in this case include that Diez has good character, served in the military, supports his family financially, has a positive employment history and has a good support system in the community. The judge found no aggravating factors, and Diez had no criminal record.

Also From https://www.nccourts.org/spac/documen...portforweb.pdf

Discretionary decisions in processing a felony case included: reduction from a felony
charge to a less serious felony or a misdemeanor conviction; imposition of a non-active sentence
(where active sentences are non-mandatory); and, for active sentences, the specific sentence
length imposed. The factors considered in affecting these decision points included:

characteristics of the offense; offender’s criminal history; mode of conviction; offender sex, race

and age; and systemic characteristics such as type of counsel, judicial division and county
profile.




Although prosecutors have a great deal of authority in the plea negotiation process, other
actors influence the process as well. It is the defendant who must ultimately decide whether or
not to accept a plea. Respondents indicated that a defendant might agree to plead for several
reasons. He may be getting a break from the sentence he could receive at trial. The defendant
may get a shorter active sentence or avoid active time altogether by getting probation. Whether
or not the defendant gets a break, he will gain more control over the sentence by pleading. The

outcome is more predictable than what a judge and jury may decide to do.

Defense attorneys also play a role in the plea negotiation process by influencing a
defendant’s decision to accept a plea. Defense attorneys consider the strength of the case against

their clients and weigh the potential outcome at trial against the benefits of pleading

the prosecutor and the defense attorney agree to

recommend the type of sentence and the length of sentence as part of the plea bargain.

judges consider the defendant’s age,
gender, family structure, employment history and status, support system in the community, level
of remorse, whether his behavior is explained by some sort of mental impairment or substance

abuse problem, the victim’s statements, and what is in the best interest of public safety.

judges reported that, where there is a choice between an active and a
suspended sentence, they look for indications that a defendant might succeed or fail on

probation.

And this will correct any futher argument you might have about the Porsecutor having trouble making this case.....Same source as well

Ninety-seven percent of felony convictions in North Carolina are obtained as a result of a

guilty plea.

That's just not how it works. It looks like that to us, but it's really not that simple. This is why plea bargains happen. It's not about what you or I "know," it's about what the prosecutor can prove in court beyond a reasonable doubt. Otherwise the guy would be on trial for a higher offense. Besides, lawyers don't have time to play golf. That's doctors you're thinking of.

You know why that is true? Plea bargains. *facepalm*

Then again, this is pretty much what I deserve for posting in any BikeForums thread relating to the law.

Not true if Mr. Diaz was given a suspended imposition of sentence by the judge and sucessfully completes his probation. Then at the time of completion the Felony conviction would be wiped clean off of his record like it never happened. Only an arrest record would exist for Diaz. Which is sad...that means he could be a gun owner again in a matter of 2 years or less.

O.K....then what is your soruce of your information for your facts?


Even a public defender can see if the state does not have enough evidence and challenge his client to go to trial and beat the case. 97% of these cases do not go to trial to save money and speed up the process of the courts. Otherwise the courts would be back logged even more than they are now as well as the prisons because jury convictions simply lead to more time than Plea Bargins.


And you cant even respond to how Diazs history han any effect on the outcome of his probation.

Uh. Law. Where do your "facts" come from?

Right. Plea bargains help all around when it's clear the defendant is culpable.

How would you like me to respond to how "Diazs" history "han" any effect on his probation? He's not on probation. He's going to jail.

Law experience myself. You have a very vague answer Law has such a broad meaning.



No way can it be said, 97% of the time the accused are 100% guilty without a doubt? Maybe 90% from my experience.



Crap here come the grammar and spelling police!

When his 120 days are finished, Diaz will in fact be released on probation for the remainder of his suspended sentence.

My problem with this, is what the first few posters seemed to not grasp. He did not hit the cyclist, he "shot AT" him.

So because of the way we handle things in this country.... the fact that he did not "succeed" or hit the target, his sentence is different than if he did. THAT is my problem. Who cares if he didn't actually hit him?

DUDE FIRED A GUN AT SOMEONE'S HEAD!

THAT is the BS.

I agree...and the damn bullet hit his helmet...too close for comfort for me. Just another epic fail of the judical system here in America. In fact he fired the gun out of emotion with no justifacation...which makes it worse IMO.

I have no idea what this means.

People like to use cases like this to talk about what is wrong with "this country" or "the system," but there is no consistent rule "in this country." In many jurisdictions an "attempt" (ie attempted murder) is punished the same as the actual crime, which is why it's interesting the charge ended up being so low. I don't pretend to know why it ended up that way (although it's probably prosecutorial misconduct thanks to "political ambitions" ) but as usual I imagine there's something more to the story than we got in the news story.

I remember reading about this when another member posted it. Glad to hear something will be done. Last I heard the fire department was placing him on paid leave.

Since I do watch a lot of Police dramas on tv I believe myself to be overly qualified to address legal issues on an internent message board (especially on one pertaining to bikes). Therefore it is my ruling that I will refain from offering my vast legal knowledge on this matter (I got a speeding ticket and expired meter ticket). Court dismissed, baliff please remove me from this post

Actually, the shooter hit the guy's cycling helmet. The bullet went through the helmet. That's cutting it kind of close if you are just trying to fire a warning shot.

After reading the various news accounts, my conclusion is the that law handled this case pretty fairly. I actually am kind of surprised they didn't let him off the hook, and if it had gone to a jury trial, it wouldn't have shocked me if there was a hung jury. Despite the relatively short sentence, the "fire fighter's" life is essentially screwed. He lost his job, has a felony record, and it will be tough finding new employment given the conviction and high unemployment rate in NC right now.

They use to teach this crap in school. Has the schools got that crappy?

Fellons not only permanently loose their right to own guns they loose their right to vote in NC till they finish their parole.

That is because.....You know nothing about the Judicial system and how it works. You cant even explain yourself...execpt....My source is Law...You gotta be good at riding a bike because your knowledge is worthless at Law.

This is the most hilarious thing I've read all day. Thanks crazyed27!

If you'd like to discuss something coherently, I'd be happy to join you. However, I suspect you lack the necessary equipment.