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Jenna Leigh Hargrave, 22, and Dereck Christopher Viator, 28, were each sentenced to five years of probation and allowed to leave the Winona County Jail. Hargrave was given credit for 264 days served and Viator was given credit for 249 days. If they do not follow the terms of their probation, they could face up to 18 months in prison.
Once the victim submits an affidavit for restitution, Hargrave and Viator will be responsible for repaying $1,875. Viator was also ordered to complete anger management classes and undergo a psychological evaluation.
Appearing in Winona County District Court separately Thursday, Hargrave and Viator apologized for their actions. Hargrave said she was “very sorry” and that she regretted missing nine months of her daughter’s life. Viator said he wanted to put the incident behind him and complimented Minnesota’s criminal justice system, saying his treatment in jail was much better than that in Louisiana, his home state.
Both were ordered to remain in Minnesota until they could sign probation agreements. After that, they will be free to transfer their probation to wherever they may end up. Hargrave will likely return to a faith-based treatment center in Rockford, Ill., her attorney, James McGeeney said.
According to their testimony in May, Hargrave, Viator and his brother, Cy Louis Viator, 24, went to a residence in the 500 block of Mankato Avenue to buy marijuana from a man who lived there. The transaction didn’t go according to plan, and Dereck Viator stole the marijuana.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim was bound with duct tape and Cy Viator pointed a gun at him and threatened to “finish” him if he were to call police. The Viators and Hargrave proceeded to steal video game consoles, games and clothes before fleeing to their home state of Louisiana, court documents show. Warrants were issued, warning law enforcement the suspects were armed and dangerous and that they would “shoot it out with the cops.”
Cy Viator is in a Louisiana prison facility on unrelated charges and faces extradition to Minnesota.
Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
