St. Ignatius resident appeals sentence
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ST. IGNATIUS — Howard Peone, 62, is fighting a sentence he received on Dec. 15, 2011, according to his attorney Matthew Stevenson, who said the case would now likely go to sentence review in early May. A three-district judge panel in Deer Lodge, an arm of the Montana State Supreme Court, would then evaluate the reasonableness of the sentence.
“The punishment did not fit the crime,” Stevenson said. “(Peone) has no prior felony convictions on record.”
Peone was sentenced to the Department of Corrections for 10 years, five suspended, for assault on a peace officer, a felony. According to court documents, charges stem from a June 4, 2011, incident where tribal and county officers responded to a complaint of domestic violence.
The reporting party said she just wanted Peone removed from the house, to which he responded that he didn’t do anything. The officers asked Peone to go outside with them, and Peone started walking toward a bedroom. An officer grabbed his arm and Peone pulled away, clenched his fist and told the officer not to touch him. Peone then struggled as the officer tried to handcuff him and said he would’ve gotten a gun if he had reached the bedroom.
After the handcuffs were on, officers walked Peone outside and he kicked one officer in the leg, causing him pain.
District Judge Deborah Kim Christopher recommended Peone be considered for Connection Corrections followed by pre-release. Peone was also ordered to pay for the cost of the jury, prosecution and public defender, but as he is indigent, failure to pay will not be a condition for evocation of his suspended sentence.
Peone also has prostate cancer related to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam.
“They obviously didn’t take it in consideration,” Stevenson said. “I hope (the panel) will see differently.”
