Former sheriff gets probation for pulling gun on youth group

By Kalama Hines, EastIdahoNews.com

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    BLACKFOOT, Idaho (eastidahonews.com) — Former Bingham County Sheriff Craig Thomas Rowland has been sentenced to three years probation.

Four underage victims spoke during a sentencing hearing Tuesday, each of whom echoed the fact that they continue to suffer from ongoing fear and anxiety dating back to the night Rowland pulled a gun on them.

“This was a night of terror for these girls,” Lead Deputy Attorney General Jeff Nye said in an address. He continued, saying the seven victims now face the same question, “How do I trust anyone if I can’t trust the sheriff?”

“I think about that moment quite often and how easily the trigger could have been pulled on any one of us,” one of the victims said during the hearing.

As part of a plea agreement, Rowland pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault in exchange for the dismissal of a felony aggravated battery and misdemeanor exhibition of a weapon charge. The charges stem from a Nov. 9 incident where Rowland pulled a gun on a car carrying a Latter-day Saint youth group and its group leader.

He was sentenced to three years supervised probation with 10 days in jail by District Judge Stephen Dunn.

Before issuing his sentence, Dunn addressed the numerous letters of support he received on behalf of the now-resigned sheriff. The letters, Dunn said, referred to the night Rowland pulled a gun on a youth group as a “mistake.”

“This was not a mistake,” Dunn said. “Mr. Rowland, you made a bad choice that night … but it’s still a choice. It’s not a mistake.”

The girls were delivering “thankful turkeys” — thank you notes written on paper cut to resemble a turkey — last November. One of the turkeys, made for Rowland’s wife, was taped to Rowland’s front door. When Rowland discovered the paper, he went out to the street carrying his gun and stopped the car.

After pointing the gun at the car, he grabbed the driver and only adult in the car, by the hair and held his gun to her head. He threatened to shoot her before demanding that she leave.

Dunn called the incident a “terrible and traumatic event” for the girls and woman involved but also said Rowland did not present an ongoing threat from which society needs protection.

Along with the four victims who spoke Tuesday were three parents who addressed concerns similar to those of the children involved.

One father said that he still looks at his daughter and wonders if she is the same girl she was before the incident before declaring, “I don’t think that she is.”

Another father said that he had heard about the remorse of the former sheriff but had seen none and had, until Tuesday, not heard any apology. He asked Dunn to “empower” the girls by handing out the stiffest sentence possible.

The mother of one of the girls walked Dunn through the night from her eyes. She was home, in her bedroom, she said, when she heard her daughter “crying uncontrollably.” She said that her daughter is now in fear at the sight of law enforcement officers and is no longer the “upbeat, fun, loving, happy” girl she was on Nov. 8.

“This will always have an effect on my life,” one of the victim said. “This night will always appear in my mind.”

“It changed my life forever,” another victim said, adding that she vividly remembers the silence of the drive home as her youth group leader drove back to church crying.

The girls spoke about tarnished relationships, fear and the counseling they are now subject to. One of the girls said that she had been told countless times that she and the other girls had ruined a good man’s life, that they had committed a crime, and that they got what they deserved.

Dunn addressed this statement specifically.

“Anyone who has said something like that to one of these eight victims … you ought to be ashamed of yourselves,” he said.

Given the opportunity to speak and address the victims for the first time since the night of the incident, Rowland apologized.

“I want to say I took full responsibility for what I did,” he said. … “I just want to say, ‘I’m sorry to the families.’ I hope the girls can get over it.”

He denied theories that he was drunk or on drugs, saying he reacted to a vehicle he did not know.

Dunn also took a moment to address some of the sentiments shared in letters supporting Rowland.

Some, he said, claimed no harm was done and that these court proceedings were a vote grab for the attorney general’s office and a money grab for the victims. Others said Rowland didn’t deserve to be punished for what he did.

He said at least one of the letters claimed Rowland “dealt with” a religious sect that refused to take “no” for an answer. To that, Dunn said the writer of the letter showed bigotry and a lack of knowledge about the case.

As part of his probation, Rowland will be tested for drug and alcohol use regularly and will not be permitted to possess any firearms.

He has also been ordered to complete six mental health treatment sessions. At the conclusion, the therapist will be asked to file a report determining any additional need for treatment. Should additional treatment be recommended, Dunn will add that treatment to the sentence.

Rowland has been ordered to spend 10 days in a county jail. The county where he will serve the time is for Rowland and his probation officer to determine. He has also been ordered to complete 40 hours of community service and pay $1,245.50 in fees and fines. Dunn attached a discretionary prison sentence of 120 days to the probation should Rowland fail to maintain the requirements ordered.

Because Dunn elected to withhold judgment, he will be able to decide not to attach a felony conviction to Rowland’s criminal record should he complete his probation satisfactorily.

Finally, the no-contact orders issued barring Rowland from any contact with all eight victims have been extended for five years apiece.

Following the sentencing hearing, Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden provided EastIdahoNews.com with a statement.

“The defendant’s actions that night last November broke Idaho law. Now he will suffer the appropriate consequences. Our system worked, and justice has been served,” the statement reads.

“I want to take a moment to thank the victims for their willingness to participate as witnesses in the case. Doing so was very difficult at times, but each one showed bravery well beyond their years. I commend them for their steadfastness and recognize that without them, justice would not have been served.”

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