FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
| Date: | January 24, 2020 |
| Contact: | Emily Lowe Public Information Officer 208-287-7700 |
| RE: | State v. David Cruse sentencing |
BOISE – A 44-year-old Garden City man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison with 10 years of those fixed, after being convicted of felony domestic battery with a persistent violator enhancement.
In June 2019, David Ray Cruse was charged with committing the crimes of felony attempted strangulation and felony domestic battery. According to court documents, Mr. Cruse battered the victim and when she tried to escape the residence, he followed her and carried her back into the residence and strangled her. A concerned neighbor heard the altercation and contacted law enforcement.
In November 2019, a jury found Mr. Cruse guilty of two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery. One of those counts was enhanced to felony domestic battery because Mr. Cruse had previously been convicted of felony domestic battery in 2016. Due to his extensive criminal history, including felony convictions for DUI and eluding a peace officer, Mr. Cruse pleaded guilty to a felony persistent violator charge. Wednesday’s conviction marks his fifth lifetime felony, according to court documents.
Ada County Prosecutor’s requested a 25 year prison sentence, with 10 years of those fixed.
Judge Miller handed Mr. Cruse a sentence of 20 years in prison, with 10 years fixed in prison. A no contact order for the victim was granted for 15 years.
“That is a harsh sentence,” Judge Miller said. “But in my good conscience, based on the record presented to me, do not believe that a different type of sentence would have the ability to protect the public from the behavior that you have engaged in, as represented not only in this case but on the entirety of the record presented.”
At the end of the sentencing, Judge Miller took time to thank the concerned neighbor who contacted 911.
“Absent (the neighbor’s) call we might not have heard about this event,” Miller said at Wednesday’s sentencing. “Given this defendant’s propensity to be able to convince other’s not to report, this too may not have been reported … so thank you to the concerned neighbor for taking what must have been a difficult step in calling the police.”
“The Ada County Prosecutor’s Office wants to thank the victim in the case for her courage throughout the court process and is appreciative of the Garden City Police Department’s time, attention and assistance to the victim in this case,” said Ada County Prosecutor Jan M. Bennetts.