ACCUSED TEXAS POLICE MURDERER AVOIDED JAIL TIME FOR FELONY ASSAULT IN 2012
I wrote yesterday about the criminal history of Shannon Miles, the man accused of executing Deputy Darren Goforth in Texas last week. Miles, I noted, had been convicted within the past ten years of resisting arrest, trespassing, evading detention, and disorderly conduct with a firearm.
The most recent conviction was in 2009 for resisting arrest. Local authorities have stated that Miles’ record included violent acts towards law enforcement officials.
Yet Miles reportedly had served only several stints of less than two weeks in prison.
Now comes word that Miles was arrested for felony assault as recently as 2012. He stood accused of assaulting a man at a homeless shelter during a dispute over a TV remote control device. Miles allegedly kicked and punched the victim, injuring his face, back, and head.
How did Miles beat the rap? Initially, he was found mentally incompetent and sent to a state hospital for six months. Eventually, he was declared fit to stand trial, but by then prosecutors could not find the assault victim. Thus, they dropped the case and Miles returned to street.
The criminal justice system plainly failed in this case. Criminal justice reform should focus on closing the loopholes that allowed an obviously violent, anti-police thug with a lengthy criminal record his freedom, which he used to ambush a deputy sheriff and shoot him more than a dozen times.
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