‘Cowboy Mike’ sentenced to nearly 48 years
Fugitive who jumped into Snake River near Ontario in 2001 convicted in death of woman
Friday, July 25, 2008 10:02 AM PDT
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The former fugitive and aspiring country singer known as ‘‘Cowboy Mike’’ has been sentenced to nearly 48 years in prison for the rape and murder of a Lacey woman.
Michael John Braae was convicted in May for the 2001 death of Lori Jones, 44. He was sentenced Thursday in Thurston County Superior Court.
Braae was arrested in Idaho in 2001 after leading police on a 40-mile car chase, which ended when he jumped from a 40-foot-high bridge into the Snake River. An Idaho sheriff’s deputy testified that Braae was picked up by a police boat after trying to drown a police dog sent into the water to catch him.
Braae was serving time for assault in Idaho, but he’s been held at the Washington state prison in Shelton during the murder trial.