A 45-year-old male with 42 previous arrests and charges on his record was cuffed yet again Friday in Springfield, Illinois, for criminal trespass, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office said.
That evening, James J. Kirst was released from jail on a notice to appear, authorities said.
But he apparently was in no mood to celebrate — or just missed being behind bars.
Exactly 15 minutes after Kirst was released, authorities said he called them saying he threw a metal pole through the front entrance of the Sangamon County Building in Springfield.
Image source: Sangamon County (Ill.) Sheriff’s Office
So, police arrested Kirst yet again, authorities said.
What are the details?
Authorities said Kirst received his notice to appear at 7:34 p.m. — and then at 7:49 p.m., Kirst made the phone call about throwing the metal pole. Authorities said they found Kirst in the lobby of the Wyndham Hotel and arrested him without incident. Google Maps indicates the hotel is about a six-minute walk from the county building.
Kirst is charged with criminal damage to government supported property over $500, which is a class 3 felony, authorities said. Kirst was still in custody at the time of the sheriff’s office announcement Monday, officials noted.
Authorities added that Kirst has “42 previous arrests/charges” on his record and that he refused to attend his first court appearance. The estimated cost of damages is $3,500, authorities added.
How are folks reacting?
Commenters reacting underneath a WCIA-TV story about the incident published on Yahoo! News were taken aback by it all:
“42 previous arrests, and he was released again?” one commenter asked rhetorically. “What judge with cement in their cranium keeps releasing him?”
“When it becomes better to be in jail than be free being a productive citizen working, it’s past time to make jail a place no one wants to go,” another commenter wrote. “Three hots and a cot and watching TV, etc., needs to be exchanged for their work in prison doing something constructive that is useful to the general public. No more free rides in jail! Hard labor needs to come back, and I bet we would see the jail population decrease.”
“What infuriates me is that people who do what this man has been doing … clearly need psychiatric help,” another commenter stated. “He really can’t help what he’s doing. 42 arrests. There is no proper program or facility for him that will actually help him, so they keep locking him up in jail, releasing, and repeat. What we, as a nation, are doing to people who need serious help is shameful.”
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