CALDWELL, Idaho — Nine months ago, a jury found a former Caldwell police lieutenant guilty of three federal felonies.
Joseph "Joey" Hoadley was sentenced in February to three months in federal prison. His family said he's currently serving out that sentence in California.
Multiple letters given to the court supporting Hoadley weighed into the judge's sentencing -- many of which current and former elected officials and public figures wrote.
Those letters were originally sealed, but KTVB fought to intervene in the case to get them unsealed.
Decades of friendship and professional partnerships were summed up in sentences considered in sentencing.
Among those who submitted letters supporting Hoadley: Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor; retired Caldwell Police Department (CPD) Chief Frank Wyant; Caldwell City Councilmen John McGee and Chris Allgood, who is also a legislator and former CPD chief); former Canyon County Sheriff Chris Smith and Caldwell Police Sgt. Scott Crupper.
In his letter to the court, Smith said: "Men like Joey Hoadley were part of the solution that transformed our community to the vibrant and popular destination that it is now."
Taylor's letter described Hoadley as, "a positive advocate for the city." He said, "Joey is not only an excellent police officer, he is a good person and friend..."
Wyant, Hoadley's former chief, echoed other letters in asking the judge to consider the years of dedicated service and sacrifice Joey made over the past 20-plus years of law enforcement and community service. He said Joey had a positive impact on reducing crime in Caldwell.
"Please consider the impact this is having on him, and his son's lives. Joey is a great man, father and Christian role model to his son and many others. He is more than this case, more than what the media has tried to make him out to be."
Allgood told the court, "Joey was tough and professional; he was not abusive nor was he corrupt. He was asked to do an extremely tough and dangerous job and he did it exceptionally well. His actions played a large part in the reduction of violent crime and the improvement of public safety in Caldwell."
Sgt. Crupper said in his letter to the judge that he was surprised when Hoadley was charged with "a federal offense for conduct I knew for certain he did not do. Joey and I have talked about the situation often since then, and we both agreed that our justice system is designed to find the truth. Knowing that he is innocent of the charges, we both trusted that the truth would eventually prevail in the process as we had seen happen countless times before. Unfortunately, in Joey's case the truth was twisted like a pretzel and ended up looking like guilt."
Those excerpts are just some of what past and current public officials said about the former Caldwell police lieutenant in letters written to the court. Their letters stacked up among 65 letters written to influence a federal judge's sentencing of Hoadley after he was found guilty of falsifying a record in a federal investigation, tampering with a witness by harassment, and tampering with documents last September.
Criminal defense attorney Jeff Brownson, who has no connection to this case, said attorneys and defendants often ask for letters of support ahead of sentencing.
"I would not want to be judged based upon the worst decision or my worst act in life," Brownson said. "Most likely, all the judge knows about this person is the conduct that is subject to the trial or their admission of guilt, if they admitted to a crime. And a court typically wants to take in the whole picture of who they're sentencing. And one way to tell the court about who a person is, is to ask for and obtain letters of support by people who know him best, or her best."
KTVB reached out to the authors of the letters we obtained for comment, but didn't hear back from any except Councilman Allgood when we talked briefly at a February city council meeting.
"My experience with Joey Hoadley was a positive one," Allgood told KTVB, "I did not have any reason to doubt his actions. My letter and my being [at sentencing] was based on my experience. I don't have any inside information - I didn't pay attention to the trial or anything like that."
Current Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue believes these public officials- both current and former - chose the wrong side.
"It sends the wrong message," Donahue said. "I haven't seen their letters. I haven't seen what they said. But the fact is, this was a problem. Obviously, there was a very thorough and lengthily investigation by the FBI, which I support."
"I disagree with them writing those letters. We don't get to pick, we don't get to choose, we need to stay neutral. I don't care how long you've known the person, or how long he's worked for you," Donahue added.
All sentencing letters were originally sealed but KTVB's attorneys asked the judge to unseal them.
Our attorneys argued that the public has a right to know the "extent to which these officials support the former lieutenant convicted of federal crimes" and that access to the letters supports the functioning of our government, allowing citizens to be informed.
U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl unsealed some letters to promote transparency and integrity, agreeing the public has a strong interest in the use officials make of their positions of public trust.
When asked his perspective on a public official writing a letter of support for a law enforcement officer found guilty of three federal crimes, Brownson said:
"My personal opinion would be that a public officer should not lose their individual voice of who they choose to support or not support. Whether that comes from them individually or as the person with X office is a different question. That's an individual question for that person to answer. You know, if I were to write a letter of support - not that I'm a person of import - but whether that comes on my letterhead, or just a blank letter is probably a personal decision for me to make. But, in my personal opinion, public officials are just like you and I. They should be able to lend their support to friends, family loved ones when they feel appropriate."
"If it's simply... 'I've known this person for 35 years; here's how I know them. This is what I know them to be', why shouldn't they be permitted to lend their support to somebody they care about?," Brownson added.
This isn't the first time a public official has written a letter of support for a convicted felon. Former Boise Mayor Dave Bieter wrote a letter of support for a priest who pleaded guilty to possessing child porn in 2018.
Bieter said Thomas Faucher was a family friend for decades and his history and faith led him to have compassion for Faucher.
But Donahue feels public officials should be held to a higher standard.
"When you have this messaging that he's a cop, let's treat him a little bit differently, then you're breaking the system. And the people who've elected us or appointed or what have you, who trust in us. You have just vacated that trust," Donahue told KTVB.
Hoadley and his attorney are trying to appeal his conviction, meaning they want another court to review the case. KTVB will follow that process as it moves its way through the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Read the full letters here:
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