Howard given 10-year prison sentence
Judge James Wheelis ended a 17-month legal marathon Monday afternoon, sentencing Barton Howard to a 10-year commitment with the Department of Corrections, with five of those years suspended.
Howard, 30, was arrested March 31, 2014, following a reported assault on Jerome Wiherski, who was 72 years old at the time. Howard was initially charged with aggravated assault.
Police reports and court records indicate Howard, then 28 years old, admitted to beating Wiherski following an incident in which it was alleged that Wiherski made inappropriate sexual advances toward Howard’s girlfriend, Samantha Wilson. A complaint was filed alleging sexual assault by Wiherski against Wilson April 3, 2014. Lincoln County Undersheriff Brent Faulkner confirmed the alleged sexual assault was investigated and the report forwarded to the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office, but to date no charges have been filed against Wiherski.
During the past nearly year and a half, Howard has filed numerous motions to exclude evidence and made a number of claims alleging improper investigation and evidence collection against the Lincoln County Sheriff’s office. He has also changed attorneys several times, including points at which he chose to represent himself and then changed his mind and requested representation.
Howard entered a plea of no contest to an amended charge of criminal endangerment May 26, 2015, and was ordered to undergo a presentence investigation by the Department of Corrections, Adult Probation and Parole prior to sentencing.
The original presentence report, completed by Officer Darrel Vanderhoff, recommended Howard be sentenced to a five-year commitment with the Montana Department of Corrections. Lincoln County Attorney Bernie Cassidy, who prosecuted the case, recommended a commitment of 10 years, with five suspended.
Howard objected to the original presentence investigation, arguing it contained prejudicial information from his juvenile history, which should be excluded and sealed. In a hearing Aug. 3, Judge Wheelis agreed to strike the juvenile history information from the report and delayed sentencing until Monday, Aug. 10.
During the sentencing hearing Timothy Baldwin, Howard’s attorney, argued his client should be given a deferred sentence, on the grounds he had no real criminal history as an adult beyond two driving under the influence charges. A deferred sentence with supervised probation, Baldwin argued, would allow Howard to prove the assault was a behavioral anomaly and that he was capable of following the precepts of law.
Cassidy disagreed.
While acknowledging the provocation of Wilson’s reported sexual assault by the victim, Cassidy said it did not justify Howard’s reaction.
“There is no justification for taking the law into your own hands,” he said.
Judge Wheelis agreed with Cassidy’s recommendation and sentenced Howard to 10 years in prison, with five suspended. He also ordered a mental health and chemical dependency evaluation as well as anger management prior to consideration for release.
Howard was remanded to the custody of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office for transportation to the Montana Department of Corrections.