From the Courts - State District Court: Dion resentenced to six years with last suspended

A state district judge resentenced Erica Dion to six years with the last suspended a week-and-a-half after originally sentencing her to six years with none suspended for an assault with a weapon charge.

Dion pleaded guilty in a plea agreement earlier this year after Judge Kaydee Snipes Ruiz declared a mistrial in trial last October on the charges when Dion did not show up on time one day during the trial.

She was charged after a woman said Dion threatened her with a gun May 13, which turned out to be a realistic-looking BB gun, after she a few days earlier told Dion she could not enter the woman’s residence at the direction of her landlord, Dion’s father.

Dion was held in the Hill County jail pending sentencing after violating several conditions of her release while awaiting sentencing following her guilty plea.

May 19, the day after she originally sentenced Dion, Snipes Ruiz ordered a new sentencing hearing for this week, citing Montana code that requires any time longer than five years in a sentence recommending screening and placement for addiction treatment be suspended.

Snipes Ruiz Wednesday issued the new sentence of six years with the last suspended and recommendation for screening and placement in a treatment facility.

She again credited Dion with 89 days served and ordered her to pay $1,768.93 in jury costs and $592.29 in witness fees for a trial