Crime

Missing Decimal Wrongly Puts ‘Ritual Mutilation’ on a Man‘s Record and He Can’t Clear His Name

Lenny Haglund speaks with a CBS4 reporter. (Image: CBS screenshot)An Idaho Springs man has been contacting anyone in law enforcement or with legal authority for years as he tries to clear his record for a crime he never committed. It is an offense tainting his name that he believes has cost him jobs, but the case was completely dropped.

The crime: “ritual mutilation.”

But that’s not really what Lenny Haglund was arrested for. According to CBS4, a missing decimal on his record has changed his life forever.

CBS reports Haglund says he’s in a Catch-22 situation. “I can’t expunge a charge I was never arrested for,” he told the station.

According to CBS, in 1995 Haglund was arrested in Buffalo Grove, Ill., for domestic battery charges, which were later dropped. A domestic battery charge should appear on a record as 5/12-3.2. What is really on Haglund’s record is 5/12-32 — ritual mutilation, which is described as any sort of bodily harm inflicted on a person as part of a ceremony.

CBS reports that Haglund is currently unemployed but was hired by the Idaho Springs Police Department after a thorough investigation into his past.

Watch CBS‘ full report on Haglund’s efforts to clear his name:


Police Sgt. Jim Vogt told CBS4 that Haglund’s frustration about the situation is “understandable.”

Comments (40)

  • LenHaglund
    Posted on June 20, 2012 at 2:06am

    Thank you blaze for running the story. And thanks to each of you for your comments. Miscoded criminal histories are a serious problem that becomes more pervasive with each day that passes.
    Please google: Mistaken Murder Arrest Still On Man’s Record 37 Years Later to see how much worse than me James White has gotten it. Len Haglund facebook, google+, LinkedIn, or lennyhaglund@gmail.com

    Report Post »  
  • MR_ANDERSON
    Posted on May 26, 2012 at 9:46pm

    Catch 22?

    Doubt it, sue Buffalo Grove for millions. Pretense, incompetence of public official cause personal pain and suffering over the past 17 years. I bet you they find away to fix it.

    Report Post »  
    • Redwood Elf
      Posted on June 1, 2012 at 5:33pm

      Just start publicly comparing their blunder to the cockroach in the opening scene of the movie “Brazil”

      Report Post » Redwood Elf  
  • mochili
    Posted on May 26, 2012 at 8:50pm

    while renewing my commercial drivers license, i was told to surrender my license for one year for DUI
    i said that’s not me,they said prove it.
    i hired a lawyer and had to prove that i was not the other guy, he had the same exact name and birthday as me. $700.00 and nine months i was cleared after giving a letter to the circuit prosecutor,the letter was from my boss,who was a golfing buddy of the judge

    Report Post »  
  • babylonvi
    Posted on May 26, 2012 at 3:48am

    Wow, with all this gay marriage stuff, now WOMEN can become ‘Wife Beaters’. I wonder if that makes them feel more equal? Ain’t America great?

    Report Post » babylonvi  
  • Constantine Ivanov
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 9:20pm

    This just proves one thing not many people pay special attention to: imperfection, fallibility of laws we often meet with is caused by people who draft, pass, and enact those laws intentionally or by ignorance.
    Therefore, our beloved slogan “Obey the Law” is often being applied and implemented brainlessly.
    Thus, we have a lot of innocent people whose life is ruined by that very legal system that often frees criminals “on technicalities.”

    Report Post » Constantine Ivanov  
  • Rijkstra
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 5:29pm

    In case you were looking for Idaho Springs, ID. It doesn’t exist. Idaho Springs is in Colorado.

    Report Post » Rijkstra  
  • YallComeBack
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 5:02pm

    For those of you mocking this man for wife-beating— when the charge was dropped,
    Know this…
    I know a guy who was in a messy divorce and his now-exwife accused him of child abuse. He was arrested and child protective services investigated and dropped the case for lack of evidence.

    Now– many many years later– any background search on him comes back with “arrested but not charged”.

    He is in the same situation as this man. He cannot get this non-offense of his record. He also has struggled with job situations. It is scary that our legal system bureaucracy cannot edit someone’s computer record!

    Report Post »  
  • Wes Hardin
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 11:24am

    That’s why we have guns. The next charge will be correct.

    Report Post »  
  • Krutch
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 10:39am

    A wife beater? What if he only hit her once? What if he didn’t hit her at all but only yelled at her? There are many ways to interpret domestic abuse and many don’t include physical action. And sometimes the wife lies about it and gets away with the charges.
    Go ahead and convict this guy just like the la cross team and the Martin shooter in Florida. There are many other examples too.

    Report Post »  
    • Constantine Ivanov
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 9:23pm

      What if she very much deserves to be hit more than twice? I personally know such harridans and feel no mercy for them… -;)

      Report Post » Constantine Ivanov  
  • ComradeAdam
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 10:08am

    Maybe there is something I am missing, but I thought it was supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Why do they keep potentially damaging info on public records that is unrelated to a conviction? Thats like printing a front page story saying a man is guilty of a crime after he has been acquitted of all charges.

    Report Post » ComradeAdam  
  • NCVoter
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 9:51am

    I know how he feels. I “HAD” a Virginia Drivers License; my DL number, which is my SSAN number, and also had my Military ID card (back then) which had my SSAN# on it also. Tried to re-new my VA DL one day, and “Their” computer stated that my DL# (only the last number) was wrong, and I’m not in the system. Even with the old VA license & Military ID they refused to renew my DL in VA because of a type-o on their computer. I now have a NC Drivers license.

    Report Post » NCVoter  
  • Naram-Sin
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 9:50am

    Expungement is the wrong action. If the clerk won’t correct a typo (they shouldn’t have a problem with that), get an attorney and sue the County and the clerk. The court can order the correction to the records, Then the 1995 charge can be expunged, assuming there are no other charges. I suspect this guy is whining because he insists on doing it the wrong way by himself.

    Report Post »  
  • Listen_then_think
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 9:43am

    You beat your wife then you cry about having a criminal record? He should join OWS and cry about how the 99% who have clean records can’t share theirs with him because that is not fair that some should have no criminal record and others have.

    Report Post »  
    • ahberns
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 4:00pm

      Did you not read the part about the charges being DROPPED?

      He is NOT a convicted wife beater At least according to the record.

      Report Post »  
  • venerablebede
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 7:18am

    So we have a wife beater who is worried about being labelled a Satanist?

    Report Post »  
    • lowerclassrepublican
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 8:49am

      No it means we have a divorcee that was charged a Satanist. It’s not uncommon for a soon to be exwife to drum up charges to help in a divorce. Knowing the charges will be standing during the proceedings just to drop the charges after. It means she had a good attorney

      Report Post »  
    • objectivetruth
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 11:47am

      @lowerclassrepublican
      Actually thats a mans bag.They beat there wife or try and remove a very vital part.She responds in self defense and she is carted off to jail.If she is let out on bail or or he will then stalk her to the point of absolute fear and terror.She will leave and get as far away as humanly possible to prevent the situation from going any further.After a certain amount of time she is sure he has divorced her.She goes on with her life.She will then get divorce papers in the mail many years later for divorce under the grounds of abandoment and willful desertion.All for what he did to her in the first place.He will forever act like the victim even though he is in fact a predator of the highest caliber.

      Report Post »  
  • firemanfrank
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 5:21am

    I am going fishing.

    Report Post »  
  • 95bravo10
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 5:03am

    Came back home from overseas,
    Was back for about 1 week and got a letter from the DMV wanting me to bring them the tags off my truck!?? Went and asked them why. They said I had no insurance. Went to the insurance company and asked them what was going on. They said I had been canceled because of 3 DUI arrests in the last year.
    Brought them my military records that showed I had not been in the US for more than 2 years so it would be very hard to be arrested while I was 3000+ miles away! 5 weeks and $400 later I got this
    cleared up. A guy that had the same name as me had the charges in the same town. They never checked the ssn# or anything. Had to pay to be reinstated for stuff I didnt even do.
    Made me feel REAL good about protecting our way of life, away from home. Having my MOM drive me around for more than a month because of something I did not do. Trust your Government!!!!! They will take care of you!!!

    Report Post »  
    • Taquoshi
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 12:54pm

      I got stuck the same way, too. I was in England for two weeks and while I was there, I had my car at the local garage for a reoccuring problem with the engine misfiring. When I got home there was a nice letter from the State DMV telling me I’d neglected to pay a speeding ticket in the state capital. Unfortunately, it was during the time I was away, and my car was on a mechanics lift with no engine. Turns out the officer’s handwriting was so poor a “8” looked like a “6”.

      When I pointed out to the DMV clerk that that was NO way my vehicle could have been involved, he just told me to pay the ticket. It wasn’t until I pointed out that my car was a Plymouth and the vehicle involved was a Chevy that they started to listen.

      Ahhh, State employees. Gotta love ‘em.

      Report Post » Taquoshi  
  • Homeschoolmama
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 2:52am

    Good thing I didn’t want to read the whole story since the video link covered up part of it anyway! I’ll keep complaining Blaze until you fix the problem.

    Report Post »  
  • wntsmallgov
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 1:24am

    Once again Government has proven that is better off small.

    Report Post » wntsmallgov  
  • KeystoneState
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 12:16am

    An electronic record is as bad as branding. Once you pay your dues, certain felonies excluded like rape, murder, and violent crimes excluded, the slate should be wiped clean.

    Report Post » KeystoneState  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 12:25am

      In this case though he has been wrongly branded; I hope and pray he is able to get justice done and have his record cleared up.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • KeystoneState
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 12:39am

      I understand and agree Snowleopard. I was just bringing up the broke system.

      Report Post » KeystoneState  
    • Pontiac
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 1:15am

      [Once you pay your dues, certain felonies excluded like rape, murder, and violent crimes excluded, the slate should be wiped clean.]
      Who says dues are paid just because someone’s been released from prison? If you‘re a convicted thief I think it would be helpful to law enforcement to know not only that but any number of things that might fit a profile of someone they’re looking for. This guys problem wasn’t that he had a record (which he did do something to earn one, just not that one), it‘s that our government bureaucracy can’t fix poop without him hiring the “right” attorneys. Seriously, all contact with the government has to be done through a lawyer or a lobbyist now if you want results.

      Report Post » Pontiac  
    • CatB
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 1:18am

      Yes and if the government ‘kills” you off .. good luck proving you are still alive! Once it is “in the system” very hard to correct anything.

      Report Post »  
    • mikefromaltoona
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 4:15am

      I often wonder about about the fair, just and correct outcome for those arrested and never brought to trial and those found innocent in a court of criminal law.
      If your arrested and the charges are later dropped, all that information about you remains in police data bases. Finger prints, possibly DNA, mug shot, all sorts of personal information. The old movie phrase, “round up the usual suspects”, comes to mind.
      And if you go to trial and are found not guilty, well again all that information is there and available.
      It seems to me that perhaps if charges are dropped or a person is found not guilty all records of that persons case should be utterly destroyed. As far as the government is concerned, that person has never committed a crime and there is no reason for his information to be included in a criminal data base.

      Report Post » mikefromaltoona  
    • KeystoneState
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 10:32am

      Uh, Pontiac, reread your post and it should answer your own question, but in case you need a little help, you asked “Who said your dues are paid after prison?”, well, uh prison was the due to be paid, and who said it was the Judge and Jury, but I’m going to assume your happy with a big police state anyway, so I’m probably waisting my breath.

      Report Post » KeystoneState  
    • Pontiac
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 4:53pm

      I don’t know if my replies are going through or if the blaze is eating them.

      Report Post » Pontiac  
    • Pontiac
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 6:13pm

      The Blaze wont let me post my reply. Some combination of words is being flagged so here’s a link.

      http://shortText.com/I2PSJcLmjY

      Report Post » Pontiac  
  • ICRedifURBlue
    Posted on May 25, 2012 at 12:02am

    Print my GDM’RFN comment

    Report Post »  
  • Bryan B
    Posted on May 24, 2012 at 11:44pm

    This is not as uncommon as people would think.

    I suggest to people all the time, to have a back-ground check done on themselves. You would be suprised with what comes back.

    People enter all the information that go’s into something like NCIC, (Nation Crime Information Center) and boy do they mess up….Then theres identity theft. In those cases someone can usually be cleared with finger-prints, but not always.
    Once information is entered in-to the system, it’s difficult to get it removed.

    Most States have ways to run a criminal background checks, through State Police or State Investigative Services, you can check for their Web-Sites…..

    Report Post » Bryan B  
    • rcw_68
      Posted on May 25, 2012 at 1:40am

      You got that right. I didn’t realize that I had a warrant out for my arrest on my SS#. My wife got stopped one night and they ran the license plate and they told her about the warrant. He didn‘t pursue it because the name didn’t match the SS#. Come to find out the next day that an illegal had used my SS# when he was stopped and questioned. He actually had a sheet 4 pages long of SS#’s he had used every time he was stopped. So ICE put warrants out on every SS# he used. I have been trying to fix this for 2 years counting. It’s easier for illegals to get things fixed than for those who are actually supposed to be here.

      Report Post »  
  • 3monkeysmomma
    Posted on May 24, 2012 at 11:04pm

    yeah I’d be frustrated too.

    Report Post » 3monkeysmomma  
  • rede911
    Posted on May 24, 2012 at 11:03pm

    The system is broken.

    Are You Ready? http://www.BigRedE.com

    Report Post »  

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