Landgraf sentenced to 25 years with none suspended for vehicular homicide

A woman who killed another woman Jan. 18 when she drove into the oncoming traffic lane and caused a head-on collision was sentenced to prison for 25 years Monday in state District Court in Havre.

Jolee Landgraf, 29 at the time she was charged, was sentenced to 25 years with none suspended by District Judge Olivia Regier Monday after Landgraf pleaded guilty in a plea agreement Sept. 28 to an amended charge of vehicular homicide while under the influence.

She originally was charged with deliberate homicide for driving the vehicle that caused the crash that killed Loretta Park of Havre, 73.

Regier imposed the sentence with no parole restrictions and ordered Landgraf to pay a total of $40,393.42 in restitution. She recommended Landgraf be screened for placement in the Elkhorn Treatment Center followed by a pre-release program.

A number of Park's friends and relatives made statements before the sentencing, saying Park was a pillar of the community, a volunteer in her church and other organizations - she was returning from volunteering at the Chinook Senior Center when the crash occurred - and a friend to all.

"You took my longest, closest friend," Park's cousin Mahaila Johnke said.

She talked about Park always being there, playing cards, fixing meals, spending time with people and helping people.

"Loretta had concern for everyone," Johnke said. " ... These times will be greatly missed."

She said Landgraf's decision has destroyed the family by taking Park away.

Park's son Ryan Higgins also talked about her being a foundation, comparing her to the Apostle Paul, whom Jesus named the rock on which he would build the church.

He said he was a little wild when he was a young adult.

"When it was time for me to turn myself around, Mom was there for me, she was my rock," he said.

Now, the relatives including Park's grandchildren have lost that, he said.

In a tearful statement before sentencing, Landgraf said she is truly sorry.

"I acknowledge I have destroyed your life and that can never be fixed," she said. "It's not enough to say I regret every decision. ... Not a day goes by that I don't ask God to help me and I ask God and Christ to be with you."

A charging document said Montana Highway Patrol was called to the scene of the crash, on Pork Chop Hill about 3 miles east of Havre, at 12:22 p.m. Jan. 18.

The trooper arrived at 12:29 p.m. and observed a Honda Dakota with extensive front-end damage sitting on the westbound shoulder. Park was in the vehicle, dead on the scene. The vehicle had been pushed back 38 feet.

A Dodge Dakota, east of the Accord lying on its side, had sustained severe damage to the left front side and the windshield was missing. It had rolled multiple times and came to rest 141 feet from the initial impact.

A shoe, later determined to belong to Landgraf, was wedged in place over the gas pedal, the document said.

Landgraf, was ejected from the Accord and was lying in the westbound lane, the document said.

A witness said Landgraf had pulled the Dakota into the oncoming traffic lane to pass a semi and had crashed into the Accord, the document said.

Another witness said she had called Landgraf's common-law husband and he said she had probably tried to kill herself.

Officers later interviewed the common-law husband and he said he and Landgraf had been arguing the night before and it extended into Jan. 18 and she ended up storming out of their home, the document said.

A trooper interviewed Landgraf and she told him twice she had purposely swerved into oncoming traffic, the document said.

The document said toxicology reports showed Landgraf had drugs in her system, including amphetamine, methamphetamine, lidocaine and THC.

Monday, The prosecution asked the court to sentence Landgraf to 30 years - the maximum sentence for the offense under state law - with 20 suspended and a parole restriction for 20 years.

Special Deputy County Attorney Karen Alley, who was the Hill County attorney when Landgraf was charged but has since resigned to take another position in Helena, said that while Landgraf has no prior felony convictions she has a record of actions taken while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a record that has escalated in seriousness as time progressed.

The sentence has to reflect Landgraf's choices that led her to crashing into Park's vehicle while under the influence of a "cocktail" of drugs, Alley said.

"She chose to drive. She chose to drive fast. She chose to pass a semi in a no-passing zone," Alley said.

Defense attorney Annie DeWolf asked the judge to sentence Landgraf to 20 years with 10 suspended, saying, as letters in support of her character say, she is kind, caring and compassionate to others and to animals. She is also articulate, honest, kind and remorseful.

But Langraf fell into a downward spiral of addiction to drugs and alcohol, DeWolf said. She said Landgraf, after having her daughter six years ago, had cleaned up her act, and worked to care for her child and disabled veteran common-law husband, but fell again during the pandemic.

"Her lifelines vanished," DeWolf said. "She started using again."

She noted that along with the responsibility she acknowledges in Park's death, Landgraf suffered injuries herself she will have to deal with for her lifetime.

She said Landgraf realizes the loss from Park's death is immeasurable and was totally preventable, and she is heartbroken over what she did,

"She will have to have to live with her actions for far longer than 30 years," DeWolf said.

In issuing the sentence, Regier said Landgref appears to be a good person, a good mother to her daughter, a good partner to her husband. But Regier said she had to take into account the violent nature of the action and that no sentence can absolve the suffering of Park's family.

Regier also noted that it was intentional, and that Landgraf's husband said he believed she was trying to take her own life.

"This was not an accident, it was a crash," Regier said. "Foolishness does not begin to describe your actions that day."