Reno receives 10 years in prison

Jamie Doran

Valley Press

Jonathon Reno was sentenced to 20 years with 10 suspended Tuesday in compliance with a plea agreement reached previously with County Attorney Coleen Magera.

The sentence stems from an incident in Hot Springs last year when Reno got into a physical altercation with his girlfriend.

Britt Cotter, Reno’s attorney, wanted a less severe sentence for his client, saying that his client did not actually cause any physical injury to his girlfriend.

During the sentencing hearing Magera had Hot Springs Police Chief Jim Matthew testify to what he saw after he was called to the residence.

Matthew reported going to the victim’s residence early one morning and found Reno intoxicated and in an agitated state. He said the victim told him she had been hit while she was under the covers of her bed and had been struck in the head. While at the scene Matthew took pictures of the damage to doors in the residence, resulting from the altercation.

Mark Denke, the county’s 911 manager, also provided testimony on behalf of Magera. He presented the court with a recording of a 911 call the county received from the victim in the assault. In the recording there is expletive laden screaming in the background, attributed to Reno while the victim was on the phone.

Cotter said that his client at no time physically hit the victim, however he and Reno agreed to the plea agreement to save the county and the victim the hassle of having to go through a trial.

Magera recommended to Judge C.B. McNeil sentencing of five years for the partner or family member assault charge and 15 years as a sentencing enhancement as Reno qualified as a persistent felony offender.

Magera asked for 10 years to be suspended from the enhancement and that the two sentences run consecutively with each other.

McNeil did not agree with Magera’s recommendation, as he said that the rules of law did not provide for two separate sentences, only for an enhancement of the sentence due the defendant’s history.

Cotter asked for 15 years, which would include the enhancement, with 10 years suspended.

McNeil gave the sentences as 20, including the enhancement, with 10 suspended. Reno must complete anger management and substance abuse treatment programs while he is in the custody of the Montana State Prison system.