State v. Belmarez

The defendant Frank Belmarez appeals the judgment and commitment of the Montana Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Yellowstone County, sentencing him to forty-five years in the Montana State Prison and designating him a dangerous offender. The sole issue to be determined is whether the District Court erred in designating the defendant a dangerous offender. We remand the case for further findings.

The defendant was charged by information for stabbing to death his wife, Vicki Espinoza, and for assaulting his sister, Jolene Belmarez, with the same weapon. At the sentencing hearing the defendant…