A Kuna man strangled an Idaho woman in a vehicle. He was sentenced on Wednesday
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A Kuna man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on an attempted strangulation conviction on Wednesday, according to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.
Gary Hawkins, 52, was arrested in September 2019 and charged for allegedly strangling someone multiple times inside a vehicle, according to a Wednesday release. He was found guilty by a jury in March.
At the time of the attack, Hawkins was still on parole for a first-degree murder charge, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Hawkins was sentenced to life in prison after killing a Lewiston woman while robbing her home in 1986, according to The Lewiston Tribune. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder but eventually was released on parole, according to prosecutors. He was 18 at the time of his murder trial and then spent at least that many years in prison.
Fifteen years is the maximum sentence for attempted strangulation. Hawkins will have to pay a $50,000 fine in addition to the prison time, and a 30-year no-contact order with the strangulation victim will be in place, according to the release.
“I want to thank the victim for her courage in coming forward to report this serious crime,” Jan Bennetts, the Ada County prosecutor, said in the release.
Members of the public in need of domestic violence resources can visit the FACES of Hope Victim Center’s or the Women’s and Children’s Alliance websites.
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 4:25 PM.
