St. Anthony locals outraged that an alleged murderer was allowed in their town
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (KIFI) - Many people living in Saint Anthony tell us this is a trusting community, so much so that some people don't lock their doors, but that's starting to change.
There's an eerie feeling in the neighborhood next to the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) where Kevin Kuintzle escaped.
The IDOC admitted they made a mistake in placing a man arrested for murder into a minimum security facility.
But locals say two questions still spring to mind, "Why was somebody with a violent criminal past in a minimum security facility? And the second was, why did we not hear about it from the people in charge for close to 17 hours?" asked Les Fadness of St. Anthony.
It took days for some neighbors of the Saint Anthony work camp to learn about Kuintzle's escape.
"I had no idea that it even happened or went on," said Wendy Murvin of St. Anthony.
Philip Damon of St. Anthony. said, "I didn't even know that background. There definitely been at least a a text alert sent out to the community. I mean, I'm literally right next to the work camp and kind could have come here and there's nothing we could have done about it."
Neighbors tell us there were children at risk.
Riley Gilbert of St. Anthony said, "I am a single mom with two little girls coming home at night after work. I feel like it's really concerning that he could have slipped through any cracks with the charges that he was facing, why he was ever brought over county lines, even if it was just for a day, even if it was just for a week, he should have never been here at all."
"There's no warnings around that says that it's state property, no trespassing or keep away nothing. So we have kids that utilize the skatepark right here. That right there, bicycles within just a few feet of the residence in the institution," said Fadness.
For many years the corrections department work camp has been an asset to Saint Anthony, bringing in funding to the city.
But after the big mistake of admitting a suspected murderer to a minimal-security facility, some members of the community have lost their trust.
"Y'all need to step it up now. Shouldn't ever get murderers next door at the facility. You should, you know, let us know because it's trustees over there, and we've never had problems with the trustees that are there. We've never had any problem or anything with any of them but murderers next door. Really?" said Murvin.
A recent community satisfaction survey for the city of Saint Anthony is filled with questions for residents about property taxes, traffic, and sanitation.
One section is devoted to public safety and relations with the local police.
If you have concerns, there are still three days to fill out that survey and voice your concerns about what happened with escaped prisoner Kevin Kuintzle.
To take the survey click here.
