VALDOSTA — Zoning issues and appointments to Boards and Commissions were pre-empted Thursday evening when City Councilman Robert Yost, Dist. 6, took the opportunity to inveigh against criminal offenders who are repeatedly released, only to commit more crimes.

Yost was outraged, he said, because he had heard that the offender who shot Valdosta Police Officer Brian Becton three times on Dec. 8, had been released because he could not be adequately treated in the Lowndes County Jail for injuries sustained when he accidentally shot himself in the leg while trying to avoid arrest.

“We need some action to protect the citizens in this city,” Yost stated.

Yost praised Valdosta’s Police Department for its work in apprehending suspects in some recent home invasions that had alarmed residents, but

he was disappointed, he said, in a process that puts repeat offenders back on the streets. Yost emphasized the fact that 25 year old Michael Bass had shot Becton three times, hitting the council table with his fist so that it rang throughout the chamber.

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that you can be let out of jail because you shot yourself in the leg and need treatment. He should be

chained to a hospital bed until he’s well enough to be taken back to jail,” Yost stated.

The Times spoke with Police Chief Frank Simons, who was present at Thursday’s City Council meeting, about Yost’s claim that Bass was

back on the streets. Simons stated that because there was some question whether Bass’s injuries could be adequately addressed at the jail, the judge ordered him released to home confinement and that he was fitted with an ankle monitoring bracelet to assure that his whereabouts were known at all times.

Simons said his understanding was that Bass’s mother was a nurse and could provide the kind of care he needed. Once his injuries were healed enough, Simons said, Bass would be remanded to the jail pending trial.

“I don’t expect we’ll encounter him again on the street,” Simons stated.

Yost pointed out that it hardly seemed fair to release Bass for treatment when Becton was still not recovered enough to return to work for the Valdosta Police Department. Simons pointed out that Becton is doing extremely well, considering what he went through, and that he should return to work in approximately six to nine more weeks.

Terence Burton, Councillor for the London Borough of Barnet in the U.K., attended Thursday’s City Council meeting. Burton stated that he is in the U.S to observe the operations of City and County government, among other things, during a break from his duties in England.

The Times spoke to Mayor John Fretti about his recent trip to Atlanta to attend his first board meeting of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

“It was both compelling and exciting ,” Fretti stated, “to be on the inside of the state board that was created to be the greatest advocate for local government. It was a big honor to be there, and I felt the depth of responsibility for the entire 1st congressional district I was appointed to represent.”

Valdosta City Council meets the first and third Thursday of every month at 5:30 in City Hall, 216 East Central Ave. The public is encouraged to attend.