BISMARCK, N.D. — The adult son of North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer is already serving a long prison sentence for killing a sheriff’s deputy during a chase. On Monday, he was given more probation, and the judge warned that he could go back to jail if he ever does something wrong after getting out.
Ian Cramer, 44, was given a 28-year prison sentence last year for killing Mercer County Deputy Paul Martin in December 2023. Martin was hiding behind his police car when Cramer crashed into it, sending Martin flying.
The events that led to the chase and deadly crash were charged with theft, criminal mischief, and reckless endangerment. Cramer pleaded guilty to these charges in February.
Monday, state District Judge Jackson Lofgren gave Cramer a suspended jail sentence and three years of supervised probation. He will have to follow these rules after he gets out of prison on parole. Lofgren warned Cramer that he could get up to 25 more years in prison if he doesn’t follow the rules of his future probation.
When given the chance, Cramer chose not to speak to the court.
Bismarck police say Cramer’s mother took him to the hospital on December 6, 2023, because she was afraid about his mental health. Court records show that he climbed into the driver’s seat of his parents’ car after his mother got out, and then he backed through the closed garage door of the ambulance bay. Later, when police caught up with him in Hazen, which is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) from Bismarck, he ran away.
Court papers say Cramer went over 100 mph (160 kph) and kept going even after a spiked device blew out two tires. It was then that more spikes were put down, and Cramer swerved and then crashed into Martin’s police car, killing him instantly.
In the case that was decided on Monday, Cramer stole his parents’ SUV and ran away from the hospital. Burleigh County Senior Attorney Gabrielle Goter asked for a 15-year prison term, which would start after he finishes his current sentence, and three more years of supervised probation.
Kevin McCabe, Cramer’s lawyer, asked for a sentence that would run at the same time as his present one. Cramer’s mother asked the judge not to give her son any more time in jail.
Kevin Cramer, a Republican, was won a second term in the Senate last year.
