EVERETT — A man recently convicted of a 2016 rape near Silver Lake won’t serve additional time for an unrelated domestic violence offense.
Daniel Miltenberger, 30, was sentenced in February to a minimum of 38 years in prison for ambushing and sexually assaulting a stranger.
He was back before a judge this week in his other case. Before his arrest on the rape, Miltenberger was awaiting trial for violating a protection order. He was accused of having contact with his former girlfriend despite a court order to stay away. The woman told police in 2015 that Miltenberger threw a lit cigarette inside her tank top and punched her in the face.
A jury found Miltenberger guilty of the protection order violation, a felony, in March.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Linda Krese on Tuesday denied a motion from the defense to dismiss the case. The defense had disputed whether video evidence was provided properly through discovery.
The hearing was continued to Wednesday, when Krese sentenced Miltenberger to five years. The time for the protection order offense will be served during his rape sentence, meaning it won’t automatically extend his potential release date.
State law makes clear that, at this point, the parole board has jurisdiction over Miltenberger’s future, Krese said. Also known as the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board, its members will have access to information about all of his crimes, she said.
Miltenberger already may be facing life behind bars. Under Washington laws, he won’t go free at the end of his prison term for the rape unless he can convince the board he’s no longer a threat. That’s in part because he had a previous sex offense on his record.
Miltenberger declined to speak at Wednesday’s sentencing. His lawyer said he plans to appeal.
Prosecutors earlier had told Miltenberger they would dismiss the domestic violence case if he pleaded guilty to the rape. He went to trial instead and was convicted. Defense attorneys say by their read, the state made a promise to drop the case, and the promise should have been kept.
In February, deputy prosecutor Teresa Cox wrote that she was “not keen on dismissing additional charges with a different victim simply because he went down on something else.”
Public defender Jason Schwarz wrote that Miltenberger would have considered a plea if the allegation of domestic violence was removed. The domestic violence conviction likely will prevent Miltenberger from having overnight guests in prison, he said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @rikkiking.
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