A son of Sen. Kevin Cramer, R.N.D., was sentenced to 28 years in prison Monday in connection with the death of a sheriff’s deputy during a police chase last year.
Ian Cramer, 43, pleaded guilty in September to nine charges, including manslaughter while fleeing a law enforcement officer, reckless endangerment and drug possession, related to a chase last year that ended in a crash that killed the officer. Paul Martin, 53 years old.
State District Judge Bobbi Weiler, who handed down the sentence, said in court Monday that Cramer was unlikely to serve the full 28 years, according to The Associated Press.
“These are not mandatory minimums, which means you will probably serve a small portion of those 28 years and be on parole,” Weiler said.
The Mercer County State’s Attorney and a public defender were listed on Cramer’s behalf and did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday night.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol has said Martin died after Cramer swerved and crashed into an unoccupied Mercer County sheriff’s patrol vehicle that struck him as he was preparing to assemble a tire deflation device to end to the chase.
A spokesperson for Cramer’s father, a Republican who was first elected to the Senate in 2018 after serving in the House for several years, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.
Cramer has said his son struggles with mental illness, saying in a statement after charges were filed last year that he suffers from “severe mental disorders manifesting in severe paranoia and hallucinations.”
