Former chief deputy sentenced to house arrest, probation for stealing money
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PRESTON — A former chief deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office has been sentenced to house arrest and must repay the entirety of the $7,836.34 he pleaded guilty to stealing.
Joshua B. Purser, 36, appeared in court Tuesday before Magistrate Judge David Hooste and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for petit theft. The plea came after reaching an agreement with the Idaho Attorney General’s Office and special prosecutor Matthew Lovell.
Prior to sentencing Purser, Hooste questioned why the former deputy was being charged with a misdemeanor despite the amount of stolen money meeting the requirement for a felony grand theft charge.
Lovell said the AG’s office considered filing felony charges but that the victims’ primary concern was to be reimbursed. In this case, the victims were Franklin County and the Idaho Department of Agriculture.
“That has been accomplished,” Lovell said. Purser paid the full amount Tuesday at the courthouse.
In addition, Hooste ordered Purser to spend 14 days on house arrest — in lieu of a jail sentence — and perform 40 hours of community service.
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Purser was charged in February following an investigation conducted by the attorney general’s office. According to a report filed by the investigator, Purser, on several occasions between May and September 2022, filed time cards for overtime he did not work.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office was contracted by the Idaho Department of Agriculture to man a boat inspection booth on U.S. Highway 91. Due to staffing limitations, shifts at the inspection booth were filled through overtime hours on a volunteer, first-come, first-serve basis.
Purser obtained several overtime shifts and received pay for them after filing timecards, despite not working all the shifts he received.
Lovell called Purser’s actions a “breach of trust” at Tuesday’s hearing, saying the community’s “very fragile trust” in all local law enforcement has been impacted. But given Purser will never again be able to work in law enforcement and he was willing to make full restitution, Lovell said he did not feel a prison sentence was necessary.
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“He can no longer work in law enforcement,” Lovell said. “He’s lost his line of work.”
Defense attorney Dennis Wilkinson agreed, adding part of Purser’s punishment is he will never again be able to serve the community in the way he enjoyed.
Wilkinson also requested Hooste withhold judgment in this matter — meaning Purser’s public record could be cleared after he completes probation, and the charges would no longer appear on his record.
The defense attorney said Purser’s lack of a criminal history showed he is not a threat to society. Wilkinson added his client is a hard worker who has always shown up for work and has no history of non-compliance, asking that any probation he receives be unsupervised.
Given the opportunity to speak on his behalf before sentencing, Purser apologized and took responsibility for his “mistakes.”
“I’ll use this lesson as a life-lesson,” he added.
Hooste called this a “potentially unusual case.” Because of his work as a law enforcement officer, it would be potentially dangerous to put Purser in a jail’s general population. But, he added, the cost to the county to put Purser in protective custody would be greater than the amount he stole.
Hooste said while he is a judge, he is also a member of the community who pays taxes from which Purser stole.
In his opinion, Hooste added, the sentence recommended in the plea agreement “was a little on the light side.”
He did agree, though, that the recommendations from both sides were “long-negotiated” — as Wilkinson put it.
Hooste decided against the recommendation to suspend the entirety of the $500 fine. He instead suspended $300 of it, ordering Purser to pay $200 — which is the amount he normally hands out for a misdemeanor petty theft.
He also ordered Purser to pay $157.50 in court fees and the full cost of an ankle monitor he must wear during house arrest — a total of $140.
Hooste suspended 166 days of a 180-day jail sentence, with the remaining 14 days to be served on house arrest. As part of the house arrest, Purser will be allowed to leave home for lineman schooling, which he began attending after being dismissed from his position at the sheriff’s office.
As for withholding judgment, Hooste paused to think intently for around 30 seconds before deciding in favor of withholding. The decision, he said, came down to the lack of any proof Purser represents a threat to the community.
At the conclusion of his house arrest, which will be served in May, Purser will be placed on 180 days of probation.
He must begin serving community service in May.