Mayor of Lakeside wins leniency for driver who injured him
By Associated PressCOQUILLE, Ore. (AP) — Nicholas Mason, who critically injured Lakeside's mayor after smashing into him with a pickup, will spend less time in jail than sentencing guidelines recommend. And he has the mayor to thank. Mason, 27, will serve about four months in jail and three years on probation as part of a negotiated plea agreement with Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier. He also must take drug treatment classes and surrender his driver's license for eight years. Mason pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, a Measure 11 crime, which allows an alternate sentencing under certain circumstances. Coos County Judge Michael Gillespie ordered the agreed-upon sentence Monday. Mayor Orville Nelson suffered shattered legs when Mason drove a truck through a gas station parking lot and struck him. As he recovered, Nelson became an advocate for the lenient sentence. Frasier said it was Nelson's wish to see Mason improve rather than sit in prison. The usual 70-month mandatory sentence remains a possibility if Mason violates probation. "He is on a short leash," Frasier said. Mason was living in Portland at the time of the accident. He had visited his parents and was headed north toward home on Sept. 6. He was weaving in and out of the northbound lane as he approached a mini-mart for coffee. He careened through the parking area and struck Nelson. The impact ripped off a front wheel of Mason's truck, but he kept driving. He stopped about 100 yards from the crash, where he failed sobriety tests and where police found heroin in his possession and in his truck, Frasier said. Frasier said Mason's urine and blood samples showed drugs including morphine, codeine, marijuana and an inhalant. "It's just not a mistake," Gillespie said to Mason, who also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. "It's a choice. I understand that you have a problem, but you don't have the choice to say 'one more time, then I'll quit.' " Mason's lawyer, Jason Thompson, told the court that Mason has moved to Coos County to be closer to his family, which will provide support. "He was in the middle of trying to kick a heroin habit," Thompson said. "He was not successful." Mason is planning a future with his wife and daughter and wants to return to restaurant work when he can, Thompson said. "I really want to say I'm sorry," Mason said in court. "I wish I could show you how sorry I am. ... I'm thankful for the chance I've been given." He vowed reform and said the man he was when he struck Nelson is not the man he wants to be. Nelson, who walked into the courtroom Monday using a cane, did not address the court but said: "I really hope he can turn his life around." (Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.) |
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February 3, 2012
- Coos Bay / North Bend, Oregon
