Letter to the Editor: Plea deal, sentencing is insufficient

Dear Editor,

I have some concerns and disappointment regarding the plea deal offered by the Deputy County Attorney regarding District Court case No. 2025-CR-05, which was confirmed with the sentencing on Tuesday, Nov. 18, regarding an embezzlement case affecting Sammons Excavation.

After many months and hundreds of man hours by the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, which I applaud, the case seemed to flat line once it left their hands.

When the case was bound over to District court, there was some hope when the accused was charged with four felonies and one misdemeanor, each felony carrying a $10,000 fine and 10 years in prison and the smaller charge carrying six months in jail and a $750 fine. However, the plea deal that was offered in this case on June 23, resulting in Tuesday’s sentencing, removed two of the felonies, removed the misdemeanor, suspended all fines and incarceration and offered up restitution that was less than half of the money stolen while applying three years of supervised probation.

My concern is that this will set a poor example in the future that there are very minimal consequences for theft and embezzlement in our county. I have already witnessed the same problem in Park County with the case of a person who stole nearly $200,000 from a liquor store they managed. This person was sentenced to $75 per month in restitution, and the person hired to replace them has already stolen $25,000 from the same store. Then there is Hot Springs County who set the bar high with the handling of the individual who stole money from the FFA Chapter. I’m guessing that potential thieves will keep that in mind in that county.

There has also been a lack of transparency in the case that I am writing about today. I emailed the Deputy County Attorney on June 23 asking questions about this case, expressing concerns, and have yet to have a reply.

If this is how cases of this nature are handled and swept under the rug in this manner, then it’s time for the taxpayers of Big Horn County to have concern about how their tax dollars are being utilized.

Rather than saying how bad the court system is, it’s time to make a difference come the next election.

Ty Sammons