The adult son of North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer was sentenced on Monday to 28 years in prison for his role in a fatal incident involving a high-speed chase.
Why It Matters
The chase began when Ian Cramer, 43, fled from a hospital and ended with him crashing into a deputy's vehicle, resulting in the deputy's death.
What To Know
Ian Cramer pleaded guilty in September to multiple charges, including homicide while fleeing a peace officer, preventing arrest, reckless endangerment, fleeing an officer and various drug- and driving-related offenses. The charges stem from a December 6, 2023, chase that ended in a crash, killing 53-year-old Mercer County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Martin.
State District Judge Bobbi Weiler sentenced Ian Cramer to 38 years in prison with 10 years suspended, three years of probation and credit for time already served. The sentence also includes recommendations for addiction and mental health treatment. However, Judge Weiler noted that Cramer is unlikely to serve the full 28 years behind bars.
Ian Cramer's Drug Use
The sentencing hearing largely centered on Ian Cramer's struggles with addiction and mental health. Mercer County State's Attorney Todd Schwarz, referencing medical evaluations, said Cramer had been enduring long-term consequences from "taking drugs to put himself into a mentally ill state."
Cramer admitted to using methamphetamine and bath salts on the day of the crash, according to Schwarz.
Kris Cramer, Ian Cramer's mother, delivered a statement acknowledging her son's struggles with mental illness and the damage he has inflicted on himself, saying that he "has hurt his brain a lot on his own," adding, "I really do feel responsible for what happened on Dec. 6, 2023."
Ian Cramer Fled Hospital
Bismarck police reported that Kris Cramer had taken her son to a hospital for mental health treatment. According to court documents, Ian Cramer got into the driver's seat of his parents' vehicle after his mother stepped out, reversed through the hospital's ambulance bay garage door and fled. Authorities said he later evaded deputies who tried to stop him in Hazen, approximately 70 miles from Bismarck.
Cramer reached speeds exceeding 100 mph, continuing to flee even after a spike strip flattened two of his tires, according to court documents. Authorities said he swerved to avoid additional spike strips and crashed head-on into Deputy Paul Martin's patrol vehicle, propelling Martin approximately 100 feet. Martin was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Deputy Paul Martin was beloved by his colleagues and known for his compassionate nature, Schwarz said. He recalled how Martin regularly checked in on a young girl with a troubled father and a fear of law enforcement, working to build her trust. Just a week before the fatal crash, Martin had shared his retirement plans with Schwarz, who had known him since the 1990s.
In April, Cramer entered a not guilty plea in the homicide case. Initially charged with manslaughter, the charge was later upgraded to homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. Cramer has been held at the McLean County Jail in Washburn on $500,000 cash bail.
According to a sentencing brief filed earlier in December by prosecutors, the offenses Cramer pleaded guilty to carry a combined maximum sentence of just over 38 years in prison.
In March, Cramer pleaded not guilty to separate felony charges stemming from the incident at the Bismarck hospital, including theft, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. A jury trial for those charges is set for January.
What People Are Saying
State District Judge Bobbi Weiler said: "The (state) Department of Corrections has their own policy on how much time you're going to serve...These are not mandatory minimums, which means that you're probably going to serve a small portion of that 28 years and be out on parole, so that'll ... give you an opportunity to have a second chance that Deputy Martin does not have, nor does his family have."
Ian Cramer apologized during the sentencing and said: ""I had no intention to do any of this. It was an accident, and I just hope that someday they can forgive me, and I think the best thing for me is to go to a hospital and just get more help."
Republican Senator Kevin Cramer said his son "suffers from serious mental disorders which manifest in severe paranoia and hallucinations."
The senator said that he supports the officers and the jail but noted that he is"somewhat disappointed that mental health is so casually dismissed both by the court and by the prosecutor."
"But I don't think there's any question there's not one person, including Ian, who doesn't know that they were his choices that led to this, whatever they may be, under whatever condition, choices that go back many years," Cramer said.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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