Christian Ramon Pena booking photo from the Cache County Jail.
LOGAN — A 25-year-old Logan man has been sentenced to one year in jail for trying to kidnap and assault a woman during a domestic dispute on Christmas eve. Christian Ramon Pena asked to be spared a prison sentence after admitting that he was a “monster.”
Pena was sentenced Tuesday morning in 1st District Court. He previously pleaded guilty to an amended count of aggravated kidnapping and tampering with a witness, both third-degree felonies; aggravated assault, a class A misdemeanor; and intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
Pena was arrested Dec. 25, 2022 after a resident called 911, reporting there was a male individual beating a woman who was screaming for help. The caller informed dispatch that the man had pulled up and hit another vehicle and then shoved the woman into a Logan apartment.
When Logan City Police officers arrived on scene, they took Pena into custody. The victim was located in an upstairs bathroom. Her face and head were covered in blood. She was later transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Pena claimed the alleged victim had fallen on the snow. Although there were signs of blood outside, the victim’s injuries were inconsistent with slipping on ice, especially a swollen black eye and gash to the top of her head.
Police report Pena has been arrested multiple times for domestic disputes in the past. He also was arrested after getting into a physical altercation with a neighbor who had called law enforcement.
During Tuesday’s sentencing, defense attorney Cameron Cox said his client deserved a chance at rehab instead of prison. He explained how Pena was working on being admitted to an in-patient treatment center after incarceration.
Cache County Deputy Attorney Ronnie Keller shared pictures of the victim’s injuries with the court. He said the defendant’s abusive actions deserved prison.
Pena acknowledged his behavior was wrong and he could have made better choices. He noted how he struggled with PTSD from a previous car crash and asked for a chance to receive treatment for his addiction to alcohol. He said he was sorry and wanted to prove that he wasn’t a “menace to society.”
Judge Spencer Walsh said Pena acted like a bully when he drank. Instead of prison, he ordered him to serve 364 days in jail, giving credit for 131 days previously served, and then be checked into an in-patient treatment center.