The adult son of U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer pleaded guilty Friday to all charges he faces in connection with a car chase that left a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy dead.
Ian Cramer, 43, changed his plea to the December 6, 2023, Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Martin passes away53. The charges include murder while fleeing a police officer, fleeing a police officer, avoiding arrest, reckless endangerment, driving under suspension, possession of methamphetamine, possession of cocaine, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.
The judge ordered a mental evaluation before sentencing him. The murder charge alone is punishable in North Dakota by up to 20 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.
Kevin Cramer, a Republican running for a second term in the Senate, has said his son “suffers from serious mental illness manifesting as severe paranoia and hallucinations.”
Kramer wore an orange jumpsuit as he appeared for his sentencing via Zoom from prison.
Before the crash, Ian Cramer’s mother had taken him to the hospital for mental health issues. When she got out of the vehicle, Ian Cramer climbed into the driver’s seat and backed up, crashing through a closed garage door into the ambulance bay and fleeing the hospital, Bismarck police said.
He later fled again when he was stopped by an officer in Hazen, about 70 miles from Bismarck. According to court documents, he continued driving at more than 100 mph, even after a spiked device had punctured two tires.
More spikes were deployed and Cramer swerved and struck Martin’s patrol vehicle head-on, launching the officer about 100 feet, authorities said. Martin was pronounced dead at a hospital.
In March, Ian Cramer pleaded not guilty to separate charges of robbery, criminal damage and reckless endangerment in connection with the hospital events. A jury trial was scheduled for November. Cramer is being held in the McLean County Jail in Washburn on $500,000 bail.
