Eastern Idaho Partnership Announces July 2018 Special AUSA Program Report

POCATELLO – United States Attorney Bart M. Davis and Bingham County Prosecuting Attorney Cleve B. Colson have announced that from January 2016 through July 13, 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted an additional 105 offenders for firearm, illegal alien, child porn, violent crime, and drug-related crimes committed in eastern Idaho through the Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) program.

Thus far, 65 of the 105 charged have been convicted and received federal sentences for a total of 3,882 months, averaging 5 years per criminal sentence.  The 105 cases indicted were referred from 14 cities and 10 counties.  It is estimated that the charges represent over $2.4 million in drugs seized and 73 illegally possessed firearms.

Presently, the average cost of incarceration per Idaho prison inmate per year is approximately $25,400, or $2,117 per month.  Thus, the 3,882 months of federal sentences represents over $8.2 million in cost avoidance to the Idaho Department of Correction if the Idaho Department of Correction were to bear the costs.

Bannock County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Herzog said, “The Partnership exemplifies what good things can happen when people work together toward the common goal of improving community safety.”

Power County Commissioner Bill Lasley said, “It’s amazing what materializes when our cities, counties, state and federal agencies join together in a collaborative unified front; maximizing resources against criminal activities across jurisdictional lines.”

“The collaborative effort of the partners has been instrumental to community safety and the dismantling of criminal networks throughout Eastern Idaho,” said Bingham County Prosecuting Attorney Cleve Colson.

“The Idaho Department of Correction is a proud partner of the Eastern Idaho Partnership.  The SAUSA program has had amazing success improving the community safety in Eastern Idaho,” said Idaho Department of Correction Director Henry Atencio.

The eastern Idaho SAUSA program is sponsored by the Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP), a coalition of local city and county officials in eastern Idaho.  The EIP provides approximately 30 percent of the SAUSA’s salary and benefits; the State of Idaho through the Idaho Department of Correction contributes the remaining 70 percent.  The project allows law enforcement to utilize federal sentences to see that persistent and violent criminals receive stiffer penalties than they might in state courts.  Federal sentences are served out of-of-state, helping to disrupt criminal networks.

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