Local woman pleads guilty to rare offense
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November 2, 2011 |
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Twyla Basil |
Twyla Dawn Basil, 33, of Bonners Ferry, pled
guilty Tuesday in United States District Court
in Coeur d’Alene, to misprision of a felony,
United States Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, Basil admitted
to acting as a lookout for people who went into
a home and stole guns. The case was charged in
federal court because the crime occurred on
tribal land and the victim and Basil are both
members of the Kootenai Tribe.
Sentencing is set for January 31 before United
States District judge Edward J. Lodge at the
federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
The case was investigated by the Boundary County
Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
While seldom heard in modern courts of law, the
crime of misprision of a felony has been on the
books in many states for centuries, adapted from
an old English law in effect since the 1400s.
It's defined as "whoever,
having knowledge of the actual commission of a
felony cognizable by a court of the U.S.,
conceals and does not as soon as possible make
known the same to some judge or other person in
civil or military authority under the U.S. 18
USC Misprision of felony, is the like
concealment of felony, without giving any degree
of maintenance to the felon for if any aid be
given him, the party becomes an accessory after
the fact."
In Idaho, the charge of misprision of a felony
carries a maximum punishment of up to three
years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, and up
to one year of supervised release.
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