Tuesday, March 6, 2001

Former Cramm housemate pleads guilty to felony riot

By Scott North

Herald Writer

Another figure in the Dennis Cramm double-murder case has pleaded guilty to a felony.

Christoffer William Dinsmore, 20, of Kenmore on Monday pleaded guilty to engaging in felony riot at a May 30 fistfight that escalated to gunfire and ended in the death of two teens.

Dinsmore, who had lived at Cramm's south Everett home, admitted helping others introduce military-style firearms into the mix that night. Cramm, 18, was convicted Feb. 26 of two-counts of first degree murder after a jury ruled he acted with extreme indifference to human life by firing an SKS rifle into a car. Jesse Stoner and Jason Thompson, both 18, were fatally wounded. Cramm faces a minimum 51 years in prison, prosecutors say.

Dinsmore was charged shortly after the shootings with second-degree murder. But that charge was abandoned after Dinsmore, who did not fire a gun, agreed to testify at Cramm's trial.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Ed Stemler said Dinsmore had stuck to his side of the deal, and the prosecutor on Monday kept his word, recommending a 25-day jail sentence. That's how much time Dinsmore served immediately after his arrest.

Superior Court Judge Joseph Thibodeau decided against sentencing Dinsmore on Monday. Instead, he scheduled sentencing for March 20 before Judge Linda Krese, who presided over the Cramm trial.

Krese is in a better position to "put everything in proper perspective" on the Cramm case, Thibodeau said.