Ex-County Sheriff Gets Probation, Fine for Gun Theft

A San Bernardino County judge on Tuesday sentenced former Sheriff Floyd Tidwell to three years' probation and fined him $10,000 for concealing guns that he took from evidence rooms while in office, ruling against a prosecutor's request to send the ex-lawman to prison. Tidwell took 523 guns during his tenure as sheriff, which ended in 1991, and in May pleaded guilty to four felony counts of concealing stolen property related to the thefts. Prosecutors agreed to reduce those charges to misdemeanors and not seek a prison sentence if Tidwell cooperated with investigators to recover the weapons. More than 100 guns were returned. Prosecutors could not charge... ( gunpolicy.org )