The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office on Friday again handcuffed a 45-year-old Springfield, Illinois man with 42 previous arrests and charges for trespassing. Said.
That night, James J. Kirst was given a notice to appear and released, authorities said.
But apparently he wasn’t in the mood to celebrate, or was just sad to be in prison.
Just 15 minutes after Kirst was released, authorities said they received a call saying that Kirst had thrown a metal pole into the front door of the Sangamon County Courthouse in Springfield.
Image source: Sangamon County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office
So police arrested Kirst again, authorities said.
What are the details?
Officials said Kirst received a citation at 7:34 p.m., then received a call about throwing a metal bar at 7:49 p.m. Authorities said they found Karst in the lobby of the Wyndham Hotel and arrested him without incident. According to Google Maps, the hotel is about a 6-minute walk from the courthouse.
Officials said Karst was charged with criminal damage to government-sponsored property over $500, a third-degree felony. Officials said Kirst was still in custody at the time of the sheriff’s office announcement Monday.
Officials added that Mr. Karst has “42 previous arrests/charges” on his record and that he initially refused to appear in court. Estimated damages are $3,500, authorities added.
How are people reacting?
Commenters react to a WCIA-TV article about the incident published in Yahoo!news Everything surprised me:
“He’s been arrested 42 times before and now he’s released again?” one commenter asked rhetorically. “Will the judge who stuffed his skull with cement keep letting him go?”
Another commenter wrote, “When it becomes better to be in prison than to work and be free as a productive citizen, the time to make prisons a place no one wants to be is over.” “Three hot beds, cots, and TV viewing need to be exchanged for doing some constructive work in prison that will help the general public. No more free riding in prison! Hard labor. need to come back, and I’m sure the prison population will go down. ”
Another commenter said, “What pisses me off is that people who do what this guy does clearly need psychiatric help.” “He really can’t do anything about what he’s doing. 42 people have been arrested. There’s no proper program or facility to actually help him, so they keep him in prison, release him, and repeat… What we should be doing as a nation is shameful and what we’re doing to people who are in serious need of help.”
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