Oro Valley Councilman Burns sentenced to probation

Pima County Superior Court Judge Javier Chon-Lopez sentenced Burns to two years probation in connection with a May 20 incident where the councilman was unlawfully in the home of his estranged wife.

“Most people don’t get this opportunity,” Chon-Lopez told Burns at the hearing.

Burns’ offense was designated a misdemeanor, at the request of his defense.

At a plea hearing in November, public defender Joel Feinman asked that acceptance of the plea be postponed until the sentencing date and that the judge designate the offense a misdemeanor.

The reason was to help preserve Burns’ professional career as an attorney. If he had pleaded guilty to and subsequently been sentenced for a felony, he faced losing his state license to practice law.

Burns was arrested following the May incident where he showed up at his wife’s house in defiance of a protective order.

Court and police documents say Burns brandished a knife during the incident.

The original indictment included criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct charges.

Chon-Lopez said the incident and court records show Burns suffers with mental health issues, including bipolar disorder.

The judge suggested that Burns read a book on bipolar disorder titled “An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness.”

In addition to probation, Burns is required to pay his wife $4,430 in restitution, to not have unauthorized contact with her and to take all medications prescribed to him.

He’ll also have to submit to any mental health treatments the Adult Probation Department orders.

Burns graduated from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and was admitted to practice in 2004.

He was elected to the Oro Valley Town Council in 2012.