Christopher M. Bass, 41, found that out the hard way.
Bass was acquitted by a jury late last year of felony drug possession charges, but has spent the past six weeks in jail for contempt of court. Fourth Judicial District Judge Robert Lowrey sentenced him to 33 months in jail on seven contempt charges after Bass called him an SOB three times, then added insult to injury by telling Lowrey to be quiet, refusing to answer LowreyÂ’s questions and refusing an order to shut up.
Bass had been in custody since October on the drug charge, unable to post the $25,000 bond. Local attorneys and judges canÂ’t remember the last time anyone has been hit with a nearly three-year sentence for contempt.
“That was a mistake,” Bass said last month from jail of his outbursts in court. “My actions were out of frustration and anger and in not knowing what to do.” For starters, he could have obeyed Lowrey’s orders.
If your're feeling sorry for him don't bother.
Bass – whose criminal record dates to a 1998 theft case and includes arrests on charges he was driving drunk, escaped and committed forgery – is scheduled for trial Monday on a felony menacing charge. He allegedly fired a high-powered rifle in his apartment to scare his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend away, an arrest affidavit shows. In several court hearings in front of Lowrey since Jan. 16, Bass has been well behaved. Slow learner, that boy.
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