Justice is Fair, thus saith the Judge
The following article is about a 20 year old male, a 16 year old female and a 17 year old female.
The 16 year old female stages her own abduction. Which involved theft of a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol, jewelry and
$178, shooting the gun and running up charges on two stolen credit cards. The male knew of the plan, nothing more.
The two juvenile females are ordered to do community service. The adult male is given six months in jail, followed
by three years of probation.
Now I have to ask, if the genders were reversed where an adult female had simply known of two juvenile males doing
the same thing, would you expect the same type of sentencing for all parties?
Kind of makes the explanation he received the punishment because he was the adult, a bit of a canard, doesn't it.
Man, 20, gets jail in hoax
The former boyfriend of the Lake Oswego teen who faked her abduction last year was sentenced Monday to six months
in jail, followed by three years of probation that will include six months of electronic surveillance.
Tyler A. Wagner, 20, pleaded guilty in Clackamas County Circuit Court to a slate of felony and misdemeanor charges
for his role in the staged abduction of Sarah Roberts. Judge Raymond Bagley Jr. accepted a plea agreement struck
by Deputy District Attorney Matt Mattox and Wagner's court-appointed defense
attorney.
Wagner apologized to the affected families and to the public agencies that launched an expensive search throughout
Tryon Creek State Park on July 21. Wagner, Roberts and friend Erica Park drove to Seattle after Roberts planted
phony evidence at the park's entrance.
"I wish there were stronger words of regret I could relay," Wagner said, shackled at the ankles and waist
for his court appearance. "I am very sorry for the cost and the interruption to your lives. I hope you never
have to suffer these things again, and I can assure you it won't be coming from me."
Wagner, the only adult who participated in the hoax, received the harshest sentence. Roberts, then 16, and Park,
17, both pleaded guilty in separate plea agreements in juvenile court last October. Both were ordered to perform
community service, to repay charges on credit cards stolen from Roberts' aunt and to pay for meals served to police
and search-and-rescue volunteers.
Kathie F. Steele, Wagner's attorney, told the court Monday that Wagner heard Roberts and Park talk about a phony
kidnapping but was surprised when it occurred and simply played along.
"He gives new meaning to the phrase 'young and stupid,' " Steele said. "And he's taking the brunt
of the ramifications of this, compared to the juveniles."
But Bagley said the law viewed Wagner as a full-fledged offender.
"You realize, Mr. Wagner, if you aid and assist someone else committing a crime that you are committing a
crime?" Bagley asked.
"Yes, your honor," Wagner replied.
Wagner pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree theft charges for stealing a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol, jewelry
and $178 in cash from Park's parents. He pleaded guilty to shooting the gun at the Parks' home in what he described
as a botched suicide attempt and to identification theft for running up charges on two credit cards stolen from
Roberts' aunt. He also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for his role in the hoax and to an additional misdemeanor
charge.
Bagley said Wagner's six-month jail sentence would credit him for time already served. When Wagner is released,
he will be transferred into the custody of the Idaho state parole and probation authorities, who have agreed to
administer the electronic surveillance in Kootenai County, where Wagner has arranged for a job as a disc jockey.
Bagley said Wagner also must submit to mental-health and substance-abuse treatment. Restitution to the Park family
will be determined in an upcoming hearing.