Local woman pleads guilty to rare offense
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| Twyla Basil |
According to the plea agreement, Basil admitted to acting as a lookout for people who went into a home and stole guns. The case was charged in federal court because the crime occurred on tribal land and the victim and Basil are both members of the Kootenai Tribe.
Sentencing is set for January 31 before United States District judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
The case was investigated by the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
While seldom heard in modern courts of law, the crime of misprision of a felony has been on the books in many states for centuries, adapted from an old English law in effect since the 1400s.
It's defined as "whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the U.S., conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the U.S. 18 USC Misprision of felony, is the like concealment of felony, without giving any degree of maintenance to the felon for if any aid be given him, the party becomes an accessory after the fact."
In Idaho, the charge of misprision of a felony carries a maximum punishment of up to three years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, and up to one year of supervised release.