Jared Kuntz, 38, the man who brutally attacked a woman and her child on the ‘M’ trail on Mt. Sentinel in April 2020 and then attacked two other men that same day, was sentenced Monday morning. in Missoula District Court. by Judge Leslie Halligan.
Deputy County Attorney Matt Jennings was the prosecutor on the case and spoke to KGVO News about the sentencing hearing.
“Jared Kuntz was sentenced Monday,” Jennings said. “This was the individual who attacked three people at the ‘M’ in Mt. Sentinel in April 2020. We had a long and emotional sentencing hearing with the victims of this crime along with other concerned family members and presented arguments in court. Judge Leslie Halligan issued a sentencing order in court yesterday, which sentenced Jared Kuntz to 40 years in the Department of Health and Human Services with 10 of those years suspended, meaning he has a 30-year sentence in the Hospital. Montana State “.
Jennings described what happened on the ‘M’ trail that day.
“On a Friday afternoon in April 2020, a woman and her young son were walking as many of us have done on that mountain,” he said. “She and her son were brutally attacked, and it was not provoked at all. She was seriously injured. And while the police were looking for this individual about two hours later, they attacked two other people on the mountain. “
Jennings said the woman’s 13-year-old son acted heroically to help his mother, who was being attacked by Kuntz.
“That young man was a true hero that day,” he said. “You know, he faced an attacker who was more than twice his size and roughly three times his age and he was able to distract the attacker and he ran for help, and his actions may very well have saved his mother’s life.”
Jennings described the sentence his office recommended that was handed down by Judge Halligan.
“Essentially, he’s guilty but he’s mentally ill,” he said. “I cannot go into details about his mental illness, but there were factors with his mental illness that contributed to his actions that day, and under Montana law that mandates his sentencing in the Department of Public Health and Human Services, and not in the prison or the Department of Corrections. The court followed the recommendation of the state which we believe was consistent with their criminal record and the dire gravity of this crime, and the need to protect the community in the future. “
The victim was initially airlifted to Salt Lake City for treatment due to the severity of his injuries.
Kuntz was transferred to Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs immediately after the sentencing hearing to begin his 30-year sentence.
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