A unique situation occurred during a jury trial in Greene County.

Assistant County Attorney Laura Snider tells Raccoon Valley Radio Jason Pirie was originally charged with a simple misdemeanor for fifth degree theft for stealing a bottle of liquor this past August. However, Snider says due to Pirie’s past criminal history, the charge was enhanced to third degree theft for an aggravated misdemeanor. 

Snider says Pirie chose to take the matter to jury trial that happened in January. Snider points out that Pirie never heard the jury’s verdict, because he essentially left the courthouse. She explains that after the jury deliberated and came to a verdict, she was notified and came back to the courtroom. She notes that Pirie came into the courtroom and then left to go to another room and then never came back, which she says she’s never witnessed happening before.

“Defendants have always come back for the jury verdict. I’ve done a lot of trials and most defendants are not in custody unless it’s a major violent felony. And so they have the option to leave if they want to, they just don’t, they usually come back to hear what the jury has decided because that’s what they’ve come to do. I mean at that time he didn’t know what the jury was going to do, none of us did.” 

Snider says District Court Judge Joseph McCarville issued a warrant for Pirie’s arrest and charged him with contempt of court. She states that at sentencing, Judge McCarville dismissed the contempt of court charge on Pirie and sentenced him to two years in prison for the guilty verdict of an aggravated misdemeanor for third degree theft, plus another 90 days after his probation was revoked from another unrelated case. 

Pirie is currently involved in another alleged incident where he is charged with two Class D Felonies for passing a winning wager to another person, habitual offender; and second degree fraudulent practice for an incident that happened this past January. If he is found guilty of those crimes, the maximum prison sentence is five years for each charge for a total of ten years.