Politics /

Former Indiana Judge Running for Congress Exposed as Soft-on-Crime Advocate

  |   By Lou Dobbs Staff

The crowded Republican primary in Indiana’s 3rd congressional district will come to an end next week, on May 7.

Law and order Republicans should know that one of the leading candidates, Wendy Davis, is a soft-on-crime imposter.

Davis’ latest ad features lots of images of President Trump. The ad says “In 2024, we’re taking our country back, but President Trump can’t do it alone.” It touts Davis as a former judge who will work with Trump to secure the border and stop drugs, gangs and violent crime.

But this is not Davis’ record as a judge or deputy prosecutor in Indiana, where she often ensured that criminals and violent offenders received lenient or reduced sentences. Davis is an alternative sentencing advocate, and even created a program for offenders to enter house arrest or traditional housing instead of serving time in prison. The program, Hoosiers Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE), was based on the HOPE program started in Hawaii by Circuit Court Judge Steve Alm, previously a Bill Clinton-appointed U.S. Attorney. A National Institute of Justice study of HOPE found that the program had “no statistically significant effects on recidivism” and “HOPE probationers had a statistically significant greater number of probation violations.”

It’s no wonder that Wendy Davis never talks about her signature achievement. And it’s not hard to find the negative outcomes of Davis’ soft-on-crime program. In 2012, it was reported that just hours after being released from jail, 34-year-old Vincen Velez robbed a pharmacy seeking the prescription painkiller Opana. He had been in the HOPE program after a previous arrest for theft and resisting law enforcement. In 2013, Ricardo Hood, 33 – a career criminal with prior convictions for theft, failure to return to lawful detention, possession of marijuana, domestic battery, resisting law enforcement, receiving stolen auto parts, drunken driving, and more – was shot and killed by a Fort Wayne homeowner as Hood was attempting to rob his house just a few months after being released from prison into the HOPE probation program.

As a prosecutor and a judge, Davis went easy on criminals over and over again. Here is just a sampling of her work:

As a prosecutor in 2008, Davis handled the case of Adonis Robinson, who robbed a restaurant at gunpoint in 2008. He received a plea agreement that reduced his eight-and-a-half year sentence by one-and-a-half years, despite the fact he had previously been convicted of resisting law enforcement and carrying a handgun without a license. After being prosecuted by Davis, in 2014 Robinson shot a man for being a “snitch” in connection to a gang.

In 2006, Davis prosecuted Jose Martinez after he allegedly broke into the home of his ex-girlfriend, beat her, and attempted to stab her and her boyfriend with a knife. Davis gave Martinez a plea agreement in which the charges of criminal recklessness, domestic battery, and battery were dropped. He received only 100 days of confinement.

In 2007, Davis twice prosecuted Christopher Dirig for stealing a car, receiving stolen auto parts, and other related crimes. After initially being sentenced to 17 years in prison, 12 years were suspended and he received probation. In 2016, Dirig lured a woman into his apartment and beat her over the head with a large, metal exercise bar before robbing her.

Davis prosecuted Tazz Langston in 2007 after he assaulted a man and woman in their home, attempted to strangle the man, and threatened to shoot his entire family before fleeing. Lanston received a plea agreement and one year of probation. After being prosecuted by Davis, Langston shot a man in 2013.

Davis repeatedly prosecuted Justin Pease, a serial thief who had his prison sentence suspended in favor of probation. Davis again prosecuted Pease in 2007 after he robbed a woman at knifepoint, for which he received only one-and-a-half years in prison. In 2016, Pease broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home, stabbed her and another person, barricaded himself in a bedroom, and lit the room on fire when confronted by police. One officer was left in a medically induced coma.

Justin Pease

Davis prosecuted Daniel Reynolds for the crimes of battery and domestic battery in 2008. Reynolds had beat his wife, who was 7 months pregnant, and slammed her head into the wall. Reynolds received a plea agreement that saw two years of his three-year prison sentence suspended.

In 2008, Tameka Bratton allegedly stabbed her boyfriend with a knife and a screwdriver in front of her children. Davis successfully sought for the charges to be dismissed.

In 2010, Pedro Perez allegedly forced entry into a man’s home to help Juan Mata assault his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. Davis successfully sought for the charges to be dismissed.

In 2010, Davis prosecuted Carmen Mentzer, a woman who was using her home to distribute drugs, which were found to be in reach of her 7-year-old son. Mentzer received a plea agreement, with all of her prison sentence except six months being suspended.

When a 27-year-old teacher was caught having sex with her 17-year-old male student, in 2015 then-Judge Wendy Davis gave the teacher, Paige Mostella, zero jail time, giving her only three years of probation.

When 19-year-old Demetrius Eldridge pulled an innocent mother into his Motel 6 room and raped her at gunpoint, Judge Davis inexplicably took 5 years off his 15-year prison sentence in 2013. Freshly out of prison last year, Eldridge attacked his girlfriend, fracturing her jaw, biting her face and threatening to kill her and her daughter, “who he grabbed by her neck.”

Demetrius Tyrell Eldridge

In 2019, Judge Davis accepted a plea deal for Michael Moring, 49, that saw him plead guilty to misdemeanor harassment instead of a felony stalking charge. He received only one year probation after sending lewd texts, photos and a video to a woman whose house he had previously painted.

And on it on it goes.

This is not the record of someone who will work with President Trump to stop drugs, gangs, and violent criminals. Davis is a liberal activist for leniency for thugs and offenders who make our neighborhoods less safe. Let’s hope Indiana voters choose wisely on Tuesday.

The post Former Indiana Judge Running for Congress Exposed as Soft-on-Crime Advocate appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.