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Cramer
A Sutherlin man who shot and killed an intruder inside of his home last June was sentenced Friday morning to 19 months in prison.
Keith Robert Cramer, 35, pleaded no contest in June to criminally negligent homicide in the death of Michael Shane Smith, a 35-year-old Alaska man who'd been staying in Sutherlin to be near his dying mother.
Cramer faced a charge of second-degree manslaughter — which carries a minimum sentence of six years, three months in prison — but the charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Friday morning, Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Ronald Poole agreed with the 19-month sentence and 36 months of post-prison supervision outlined in the agreement. Cramer was also ordered to pay more than $1,000 in restitution for Smith's funeral expenses.
Smith's stepfather and one of his sister's attended the hearing and both addressed the court. Senior Deputy District Attorney Deborah Stoll said Cramer cried as the family spoke and nodded his head in agreement at times.
Stoll also read letters written by Smith's widow and one of his sisters.
“The family is very upset because they felt like 19 months wasn't sufficient for what they saw as a murder of their brother or husband,” Stoll said. “... The problem, obviously, was the victim was in someone else's house.”
Most of the facts about what happened that night — June 19, 2008 — were undisputed, Stoll said.
That night, Cramer and Smith were at the same Sutherlin bar, though there is no indication the men had any interaction, Stoll said. Smith left the bar with a woman, but Stoll said the woman left Smith as they walked through town and, eventually, Smith ended up at Cramer's home on Mardonna Way.
Smith walked in through the unlocked door and was unbuckling his pants and taking off his shoes when Cramer's wife, Christy, found the man, Stoll said. Smith then laid down on the couch and went to sleep, she said.
Christy Cramer went into the master bedroom with her daughter and locked the door. The pair then left the house through a back door in the bedroom, Stoll said.
Christy Cramer picked her husband up at the nearby bar and took him home. All three entered the home but could not get into the bedroom where guns were located because the door was locked from the inside, so Christy Cramer and the young girl went to the car and called police, Stoll said.
Meanwhile, Cramer went around the outside of the house to the back door, grabbed a gun and re-entered the living room, Stoll said. Cramer woke a sleeping Smith with the butt of his gun and a verbal argument ensued, she said. At some point, Smith reached toward Cramer, Stoll said.
“We don't know if he was reaching at the gun or at his shoes, which were over there too,” she said.
Cramer said he believed Smith was reaching for the gun and shot the man in the chest, Stoll said. Smith never left the couch, she said.
“He was totally and completely on the couch,” Stoll said. “His feet were up. He was only able to get up on an elbow.”
Cramer had said early on that he was acting in self-defense when he shot Smith. Stoll said the law does not allow people to use deadly force, even in their own homes, unless the intruder is committing a felony. The state believed Smith's only crime was trespassing, which is not a felony, Stoll said.
However, Stoll said the district attorney's office felt that many people would believe that Cramer had the right to act as he did. Defense attorney Jim Arneson said he believed he could have gotten an acquittal had the case gone to trial.
“I explained that I felt that we had a very good chance at a complete acquittal if we went to trial but that my client had decided that he wanted to resolve the case in the way that it was done,” Arneson said.
Cramer spoke during the sentencing hearing and said he regretted the June 2008 incident.
“Essentially, what he said was that he felt terribly for the family members and for the victim, that he would remember it every day of his life, and that he deeply regretted that the incident had happened,” Arneson said of Cramer.
Cramer's wife, as well as other family members and friends, attended the hearing Friday.
“He's not looking forward to doing the 19 months,” Arneson said of Cramer. “But he did not want to take the risk of losing the case and then imposing that burden on his family, where he would have gone away to prison to a very long time.”
Keith Robert Cramer, 35, pleaded no contest in June to criminally negligent homicide in the death of Michael Shane Smith, a 35-year-old Alaska man who'd been staying in Sutherlin to be near his dying mother.
Cramer faced a charge of second-degree manslaughter — which carries a minimum sentence of six years, three months in prison — but the charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Friday morning, Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Ronald Poole agreed with the 19-month sentence and 36 months of post-prison supervision outlined in the agreement. Cramer was also ordered to pay more than $1,000 in restitution for Smith's funeral expenses.
Smith's stepfather and one of his sister's attended the hearing and both addressed the court. Senior Deputy District Attorney Deborah Stoll said Cramer cried as the family spoke and nodded his head in agreement at times.
Stoll also read letters written by Smith's widow and one of his sisters.
“The family is very upset because they felt like 19 months wasn't sufficient for what they saw as a murder of their brother or husband,” Stoll said. “... The problem, obviously, was the victim was in someone else's house.”
Most of the facts about what happened that night — June 19, 2008 — were undisputed, Stoll said.
That night, Cramer and Smith were at the same Sutherlin bar, though there is no indication the men had any interaction, Stoll said. Smith left the bar with a woman, but Stoll said the woman left Smith as they walked through town and, eventually, Smith ended up at Cramer's home on Mardonna Way.
Smith walked in through the unlocked door and was unbuckling his pants and taking off his shoes when Cramer's wife, Christy, found the man, Stoll said. Smith then laid down on the couch and went to sleep, she said.
Christy Cramer went into the master bedroom with her daughter and locked the door. The pair then left the house through a back door in the bedroom, Stoll said.
Christy Cramer picked her husband up at the nearby bar and took him home. All three entered the home but could not get into the bedroom where guns were located because the door was locked from the inside, so Christy Cramer and the young girl went to the car and called police, Stoll said.
Meanwhile, Cramer went around the outside of the house to the back door, grabbed a gun and re-entered the living room, Stoll said. Cramer woke a sleeping Smith with the butt of his gun and a verbal argument ensued, she said. At some point, Smith reached toward Cramer, Stoll said.
“We don't know if he was reaching at the gun or at his shoes, which were over there too,” she said.
Cramer said he believed Smith was reaching for the gun and shot the man in the chest, Stoll said. Smith never left the couch, she said.
“He was totally and completely on the couch,” Stoll said. “His feet were up. He was only able to get up on an elbow.”
Cramer had said early on that he was acting in self-defense when he shot Smith. Stoll said the law does not allow people to use deadly force, even in their own homes, unless the intruder is committing a felony. The state believed Smith's only crime was trespassing, which is not a felony, Stoll said.
However, Stoll said the district attorney's office felt that many people would believe that Cramer had the right to act as he did. Defense attorney Jim Arneson said he believed he could have gotten an acquittal had the case gone to trial.
“I explained that I felt that we had a very good chance at a complete acquittal if we went to trial but that my client had decided that he wanted to resolve the case in the way that it was done,” Arneson said.
Cramer spoke during the sentencing hearing and said he regretted the June 2008 incident.
“Essentially, what he said was that he felt terribly for the family members and for the victim, that he would remember it every day of his life, and that he deeply regretted that the incident had happened,” Arneson said of Cramer.
Cramer's wife, as well as other family members and friends, attended the hearing Friday.
“He's not looking forward to doing the 19 months,” Arneson said of Cramer. “But he did not want to take the risk of losing the case and then imposing that burden on his family, where he would have gone away to prison to a very long time.”
• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@nrtoday.com.
