8. Appeal in the Murder of Officer Shawn Silvera near Lino Lakes.

THE CRIME:  On September 6, 2005, hophead Stephen Stanke was on the run from multiple drug and burglary charges in South Dakota.  He had not slept for two weeks because of meth abuse.  He stole a car and led police on a 14-mile chase in rush hour.  Nearing the Twin Cities at 110 miles per hour while smoking more meth, Stanke approached Forest Lake. Lino Lake Officer Shawn Silvera tried to slow Stanke with "stop sticks."  Stanke deliberately ran over and killed Officer Silvera.

In 2006, Stanke pleaded guilty and the district court sentenced him to a term of imprisonment of forty years, double the recommended sentence.

Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea joined the Supreme Court in upholding the sentence in 2009.  See here. 

In 2009, the Supreme Court upheld the doubling of Stanke's proposed sentence in the wake of his guilty plea.

"Although Officer Silvera’s particular vulnerability as a peace officer cannot be used as an aggravating factor, the circumstances surrounding his death were properly considered by the district court.  The admitted facts are so extreme that we are convinced that they support a greater-than-double-durational departure and that the absence of the aggravating factor of Officer Silvera’s particular vulnerability would not change the district court’s sentence on remand.  Therefore, to remand this case to the district court would not be a prudent use of the time and resources of the judicial system.  Thus, given the atypical and particularly egregious facts of this case, we affirm the district court’s sentence. "