Judge tells Burley man: ‘I would have shot you’
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BURLEY — A district judge said he would have shot a man accused in a baseball bat beating if the man had broken into the judge’s home rather than the victim’s.
Fifth District Judge Randy Stoker handed down the maximum sentence Tuesday of 15 years in prison for Logan John Urrizaga, 23, but suspended the sentence and placed Urizzaga in the state’s retained jurisdiction program aimed at rehabilitating offenders, the Times News reported.
Urrizaga was charged in September after he beat the victim with the bat in the forehead and legs.
“I’ll say this as a judge,” Stoker reportedly said to Urrizaga. “If you would have broken into my home in the middle of the night, you’d be dead. I would have shot you.”
Urrizaga called witnesses prior to sentencing to talk about his good character and what a good father he is to his 5-year-old daughter.
Stoker said Urrizaga’s criminal behavior crossed the line and affected people’s lives.
“I understand that you have some stability in the community, but I’m taking you out of the community. You are going into the rider program because you need to understand the inner workings of the Idaho State Penitentiary,” Stoker said.
The sentence will run concurrent to a November burglary charge.
A third charge of aggravated battery, stemming from an incident that occurred days after Urrizaga was released from jail where he pulled out another baseball bat to use as a weapon against a person, was dismissed in a plea agreement.
Urrizaga entered an Alford guilty plea to the charges, meaning he maintained his innocence but admitted prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.
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