I’m writing to express my concern and frustration with our criminal justice system after reading your article regarding the latest arrest of Mitchell Borden.
Follow this chain of events as outlined in your April 17 article: Borden stole a car and led police on a 100 mph pursuit ending in a head on collision in September 2020. He was sentenced to 27.75 months in prison and was out on 27.75 months of probation when last Christmas morning, he is accused of breaking into a home and stealing another car. Police caught up with him in January of this year after he rammed a police car and led officers on another chase. Borden was released from the Lewis County Jail on a $50,000 bond on March 27. On April 14, Borden is accused of trying to break into two more residences. The judge then set his bail lower than before at $20,000.
Your article goes on to report that two days later, bail was increased to $100,000 citing “the (first) judge didn’t have access to Borden’s criminal history or the charging information, which wasn’t available until court reopened Monday.”
That is unbelievable, an incomprehensible failure of our local justice system. It is unacceptable for a judge to not have access to the same criminal history information that police officers have at their disposal 24/7.
I have a personal connection to this case: Borden is the person accused of breaking into my childhood home and violating my family’s privacy and sense of security on Christmas. As such, I have been following his case and the actions of our judges, prosecutors and the Department of Corrections. After getting access to and reviewing police radio traffic from the Thurston County police chase, it’s amazing that Borden was even caught. Borden crashed into a police car in Tumwater and then fled. As the police began the chase, a supervisor came on the radio and ordered them to “terminate” the pursuit. I found out later that under current (and proposed) Washington law, you can steal a car and ram the police and that’s not enough to justify a chase. Fortunately, a Thurston County Sheriff’s Office deputy alleged Borden was drunk, allowing police to resume pursuit, resulting in his apprehension.
I was shocked to hear Borden was released on bail in March since he violated his probation. When I called the Lewis County Prosecutor’s office to inquire, I was told that the court was “unaware” of Borden’s probation status when he posted bail. I called Borden’s probation officer at the Department of Corrections in Chehalis and left a detailed voicemail but my call was never returned.
This entire chain of events suggests that our criminal justice system is in a state of disrepair. The recent cascade of well-intentioned but misguided legislative proposals that weaken police powers, shorten sentences and generally erode the rule of law must end. I urge voters to educate themselves on these issues and support candidates who prioritize public safety and justice reform.
Eric Koreis
Centralia
