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Track Palin: Sarah Palin’s Oldest Son Goes To Rehab Instead Of Jail For Domestic Violence Charges

By Inquisitr Staff
Published on: 04:21 PST, Jul 17, 2016

Track Palin is going to rehab instead of jail for domestic violence charges. Sarah Palin’s oldest son, Track, was arrested back in January when he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend at the time and then threatened to commit suicide. The Alaska Dispatch News reported on Saturday that Track Palin is escaping jail time by accepting a plea deal that drops two out of three charges in exchange for spending time in a “therapeutic program” for alcohol-related treatment.

As a veteran for serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq for one year in 2008, Track Palin was able to opt into a special veteran’s court in Anchorage, Alaska, for a case against him stemming from domestic violence charges in January. Track Palin, 27, was arrested at the home of Todd and Sarah Palin on January 18 in Wasilla, Alaska, after allegedly punching his girlfriend in the face and then threatening to commit suicide with an AR-15 rifle.

According to the Inquisitr on January 24, Track Palin reportedly suffers from PTSD after serving for a short time with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based out of Wainwright, Alaska, in 2008 when George W. Bush was President. Track’s alleged PTSD, stemming from his time spent in Iraq as a reservist, may have contributed to the domestic violence charges brought against him by an unidentified ex-girlfriend.

“The woman had a bruised and swollen left eye, as well as a ‘small red area’ near her knee where she said Palin kicked her.”

The woman told police that Track Palin was angry with her over an ex-boyfriend, which caused him to throw her phone, strike her in the face, kick her, and then threaten to kill himself with a rifle. Former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, said in a video posted on USA Today on January 20, only two days after Track’s arrest, that her son came back from Iraq a “bit different” after fighting as a combat vet in a stryker brigade for “you all” America in a war zone.

“They come back hardened. They come back wondering if there is that respect for what it is their fellow soldiers and airmen and every other member of the military so sacrificially have given to this country.”

Sarah Palin went on in the video to call her son’s domestic violence arrest the “elephant in the room” as she campaigned for Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to the Alaska Dispatch News, Sarah Palin never specifically said that Track suffers from PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, but anger, violence, and depression are common symptoms of the combat-related mental health disorder.

Attorney for Track Palin, Kevin Fitzgerald, transferred the domestic violence case to the Anchorage Veterans Court, thinking that Palin needed “behavioral health treatment,” rather than jail time. The Anchorage Veterans Court is specifically for veterans who have been charged with misdemeanors, and Track Palin’s domestic violence in January earned him three misdemeanor charges. However, USA Today reports that prosecutors dropped two out of the three misdemeanor charges on Friday in exchange for a plea agreement.

A fourth-degree domestic violence assault charge was dropped, as well as interfering with a report of domestic violence, leaving Track Palin facing one charge of fourth-degree weapons misconduct, a charge that will send him to rehab, rather than jail, under the plea agreement. Fitzgerald said that the one weapon charge would be expunged if Track completes the “alcohol-related” treatment program.

“Otherwise, he could get a 180-day suspended jail sentence and be placed under informal probation for two years.”

Not yet known is what rehab program Track Palin will have to follow, but according to Anchorage district attorney, Clinton Champion, he will more than likely agree to the program, even though it could take months to complete. Champion went on to say that the Veterans Association usually does an assessment to determine what each vet needs. For Palin, that might be addiction assistance, considering his blood alcohol content on January 18, the day of his arrest, was.189. Alaska can revoke driving privileges for a blood alcohol content of only.08 percent.

Track Palin is reportedly known for getting into trouble, including a drunken family brawl in 2014, where he was the most injured. In 2012, after less than two years of marriage, Track divorced his first wife, Britta, getting custody of all of the guns, while Britta got full custody of their daughter, Kyla Grace. Track’s short and failed marriage may have also been a result of his alleged PTSD, even though, according to his discharge papers, Track Palin never saw any active combat during his time spent as a soldier in Iraq.

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]

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