Miramon Jr. sentenced to forty years, twenty suspended

Fifteen months after making his initial appearance in the courtroom, and following many delays, representation changes, and a change of plea, the case against Ernest Miramon, Jr. has come to a close.

On Tuesday, January 25, at 2:32 p.m., District Court was called to order for the sentencing hearing with the Honorable Yvonne Laird presiding via Zoom from Blaine County. Present in Malta was Dan O'Brien, representing the State of Montana, and Lee Pekovitch, legal intern via Zoom. Paul Neal, representing the defendant, and defendant Ernest Miramon, Jr. via Zoom from Valley County Detention.

The only testimony presented on that day was from the two victim statements that would be read by the victim witness advocate, Jewel Etherington under oath.

Per the plea agreement, the State asked for a sentence of 40 years to the Montana State Prison with the last 20 years to be suspended under the terms and conditions that might be recommended in the Psychosexual evaluation and the PSI report.

The defense did ask the court to consider a 20-year sentence with the last 10 years suspended, due to the nature of the defendant's upbringing.

The Court asked Mr. Miramon if he wished to make a statement, to which he declined.

After a 10 minute recess, the court came back with the verdict.

The court finds that given the seriousness of these offenses, a 40-year commitment to the Montana State Prison is appropriate. The court is going to suspend the last 20 years as recommended by the Deputy County Attorney and designate the defendant as a level II offender. Prior to being eligible for parole, the defendant must complete Phases I and II of the Sex Offender Treatment Program at the state prison. Under parole, the defendant will be subject to the terms and conditions in the PSI for the suspended portion of the sentence.