Habitual criminal gets 8 life terms

Kim Smith

Friday, May 26, 2000 | 10:32 a.m.

A 23-year-old man accused of slashing the throats of two young boys was given eight life terms Thursday in connection with the attack, which the boys survived.

Jaramie Dean Womack, found to be a habitual criminal, was sentenced to a mix of concurrent and consecutive life sentences by District Judge John McGroarty. He will not be eligible for parole.

The judge also ordered Womack to pay more than $15,500 in restitution.

According to police, Womack moved to his cousin's home in Las Vegas from Washington in the fall of 1999.

Police say Womack, on Oct. 4, 1999, took a steak knife to the throats of two boys, ages 7 and 13, who were living in the house. He then locked them in a bathroom with their 12-year-old sister.

The sister eventually escaped and got help for her brothers, whose wounds, though not life threatening, were deep enough to cause scars.

Womack ransacked the house while the children were locked up and stole two checks that belonged to the children's mother, the girlfriend of Womack's cousin, police said.

Womack conceded in March that Chief Deputy District Attorney William Koot had enough evidence to convict him of attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, forgery and possession of a credit card without the cardholder's consent.

Womack has two felony convictions in Washington, including one for robbery.