Archive for Friday, May 16, 2008
Trial set in battery, kidnapping case
May 16, 2008
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Matthew Jaeger trial set
Trial is now set for a man charged with kidnapping and beating his former girlfriend in Lawrence. Enlarge video
A man charged with kidnapping and injuring his former girlfriend will be tried Oct. 27 in Douglas County District Court.
During a hearing Thursday morning, Judge Robert Fairchild also directed that the suspect, Matthew Jaeger, continue to wear a GPS monitoring device while free on bond.
Jaeger, 22, is charged with aggravated battery, aggravated burglary, bribery and making a criminal threat. The charges stem from an incident last year when a man broke into a woman’s apartment in Lawrence and forced her to his car after severely injuring her. Police, responding to a disturbance call at the complex in the 1200 block of George Court, stopped the vehicle a few blocks away.
Jaeger’s parents posted his $850,000 bond. His attorney, Carl Cornwell, asked Fairchild to remove the monitoring device because Jaeger had worn it without incident while in a substance abuse program in California. He said Jaeger would be spending the summer with his parents, who are from the Chicago area. Jaeger is not to travel within 100 miles of his victim.
“He knows that if he runs, this town is going to be greatly enriched,” Cornwell said, referring to forfeiture of the bond money.
Assistant Kansas Attorney General Jacqueline Spradling opposed removal of the device, noting the victim’s serious injuries.
The attorney general’s office is assisting Douglas County with the case.
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16 May 2008 at 11:02 a.m.
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Munsoned (Anonymous) says…
No, this town would be greatly enriched if Daddy let Matt deal with this himself.
prison is the new rehab
16 May 2008 at 3:40 p.m.
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Scattered (Anonymous) says…
I would also like to know how in the world this heinous crime is not attempted murder. If your suffocate a person to the point of unconsciousness, just exactly what is your intent?
I know the history of some of the outrageous judicial decisions in your town, and it scares and angers me to think that between judges' ineptness and daddy's big money, this creature could be out roaming the streets in short time.
Absolutely disgusting.
16 May 2008 at 7:13 p.m.
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been_there (Anonymous) says…
Scattered, believe me, the responsible citizens in Lawrence are just as angry about the slaps on the wrist and crimminal case dismissals as you are. I'm pretty liberal but am outraged at what the crimminals get away with here. I personally think some of the sentences handed down are crimminal.
16 May 2008 at 9:07 p.m.
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jayhawkbarrister (Anonymous) says…
If you are upset with the sentencing guidelines that give the judges very little discretion, then look west to the legislature in Topeka. The sentencing guidelines are created by the legislature. The current guidelines have too many quirks and anomalies that create situations where attempted murder has a lesser penalty than kidnapping. Advocating a charge of attempted murder is, in this case, the 'soft-on-crime' approach.
18 May 2008 at 7:19 a.m.
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lilleba (Anonymous) says…
I would like to add to Scattered's comment regarding the Court's here in Lawrence. Yes, while the legislature is in Topeka there are situations in which the Judge can decide how to proceed in a felony case. For example, the severity level if a Motion to change is brought forth by the DA's office.
Two years ago a woman was beaten and strangled multiple times by her ex boyfriend - a cop. This man had also threatened to kill her once before when she worked at KU and at that time the DA brought no charges. A few months later, he beat her for an hour and a half, broke bones, strangled multiple times resulting in petechial hemorrahging, and followed her around town and tried to prevent her from obtaining urgent medical attention.
He was charged with a level 7 felony but a week later, once the DA knew the full extent of her injuries and that she was lucky to be alive, motioned Judge Six at the arraignment to up the charge to a level 4 which might have put him behind bars for a while. The Judge declined this and keep it at a level 7 which only carries a 2 year probation sentence. This man is no longer a cop but he roams the streets of Lawrence today.
I have no doubt if this case had been tried elsewhere, such as Johnson County, the Judge would have realized strangulation of a human being multiple times is attempted murder and granted a much tougher sentencing based on the state guidelines.
18 May 2008 at 12:49 p.m.
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smitty (Anonymous) says…
Thank you for your comments, lilleba .
LE and domestic violence by the LPD didn't get in the news, did it? Why not? JW is a part of the problem in not reporting the truth about the LE in Lawrence.
But how could the CC and the city promote our builder's bedroom community if the truth was known about what really goes on. Gotta keep those statistics cleaned up to win the awards for Lawrence in those magazines that are published locally and distributed nationally.
Vote the judges out with a no retention vote if you believe the judges are too soft. It's up to you. As with Bushboy….we have a turn over time to suffer through but your vote will matter.
OK, rant over.
20 May 2008 at 9:44 a.m.
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lilleba (Anonymous) says…
This guy never spent 1 second in jail for what he did. He was a cop in another city (hint - to the west) but the LPD, even tho they knew his address and had witnesses, never attempted to go get him or have another dept in his jurisdiction go arrest him and put him in jail (before he posted bond). He was out running around for two weeks b/4 the warrant was issued. That has always been very puzzling to me. I wonder if the fact that he was a *cop* had something to do with it. I know most cops are very good people but why they were so soft, as was Judge Six in this case, is concerning.