After racing into Powell at more than 140 mph and crashing into four different vehicles last year, Cameron Boni explained to authorities that he was fleeing from unknown people who’d planted a bomb in his car and were after his money.

The account appeared to reflect paranoid delusions rather than reality, but even this month, as he accepted a nine- to 10-year prison sentence for the incident, Boni insisted that he was innocent and that his fears were real.

Speaking at an Aug. 15 hearing in Park County District Court, Boni asserted that there had been a break-in at his Meeteetse home and an “explosion” in his car. He described his high-speed flight on May 11, 2023 as a way of asking for help.

“I don’t know that I have the technologic background or ability or the vocabulary to describe the way that the vehicle was actually taken out of my control,” Boni said. “It sounds pretty crazy, I agree. However, I had no intent of hurting anybody.”

As part of a plea deal with the Park County Attorney’s Office, Boni had offered what’s known as an Alford plea to two felony counts of aggravated assault and battery; they assert that Boni used his 2003 Volkswagen Jetta as a deadly weapon and “knowingly” injured the occupants of one vehicle he hit. An Alford plea has the same effect as a guilty plea, but allows the defendant to continue to assert their innocence. 

At sentencing, Boni apologized to and asked for forgiveness from the people “who I was in the accident with” and expressed gratitude that they only suffered minor injuries. But he also told District Court Judge Bill Simpson that, “I’m simply not guilty of what you’re sentencing me for today.”

Simpson acknowledged Boni’s remarks before noting the defendant’s struggles with mental illness, calling the issue “a huge horrendous problem in this country and here in the state of Wyoming.”

Simpson described Boni as a “well respected” person who’s done good work, “but unfortunately,” the judge said, “this was a tragic episode.”

Authorities have called it a miracle that no one was seriously injured in the May 2023 incident.

Other drivers started calling law enforcement when they spotted Boni speeding east of Lovell on Wyo. Highway 310. Responding police clocked him racing into Powell on Coulter Avenue at 143 mph. Boni’s Jetta sideswiped an SUV between Bent and Absaroka streets, then hit a truck and a second SUV before crashing into a sedan and sliding to a stop.

“It had the potential to do great harm, not only to you and subsequently your family, but to innocent victims who might have been in the area,” Simpson told the defendant.

Boni’s defense attorney, Tim Blatt, had argued that the incident stemmed from mental illness. The case against Boni had to be put on hold last year after a psychologist determined the defendant was suffering from “significant” mental illness and was unfit to stand trial. It took months for a bed to open up at the Wyoming State Hospital and in the meantime, Boni remained in jail while his health reportedly deteriorated. At an October hearing, Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah called Boni “a product of a system, in my mind, that is broken.”

Boni eventually made it to the Wyoming State Hospital and staff later reported that his competency had been restored, allowing the proceedings to resume.

Still, Boni’s mental condition at the time of the May 2023 crash remained in dispute. Blatt contended that his client was not guilty by reason of mental illness or deficiency, and a mental evaluation conducted earlier this year indicated that “may be a proper defense,” he said.

Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Hatfield had requested a second opinion at the time the parties struck a plea deal.

At a court hearing in April, Hatfield rejected Boni’s version of events.

“He was obviously trying to kill people and himself,” Hatfield said. “And he can deny it as much as he wants, and he can claim that he had some mental break with reality, and he was fleeing people, but his criminal history proves otherwise.”

The prosecutor called Boni “a violent convicted felon that will not stop.”

In exchange for the Alford pleas, Hatfield agreed to drop his request to have Boni designated as a “habitual criminal.” The designation — which applies when a defendant has two or more prior felony convictions and commits a felony crime of violence — could have potentially resulted in a 10-50 year sentence if Boni had been convicted at trial.

According to Hatfield, Boni was previously convicted of felony third-degree assault in Oregon in 2001 and of aggravated assault in 2007, for reportedly threatening a Park County Sheriff’s deputy with a knife.

Boni’s mother, Kathy Thompson of Cody, said her son had been doing better in more recent years — though court records do show a 2021 episode in which Boni reportedly took an employer’s backhoe for a joyride and drove a truck onto a Meeteetse resident’s yard while yelling for the person to shoot him.

In a letter sent to Simpson ahead of her son’s sentencing, Thompson said she plans to use Boni’s case to “draw attention to the mental health crisis our world seems to be dealing or not dealing with.”

She said her son needs medical and mental help and sharply criticized Hatfield, saying the prison sentence “seems cruel and unnecessary.”

At sentencing, Simpson said he wished he had an alternative to imposing the negotiated prison time.

“Mental health is a terrible, horrendous problem in this state, and I’ve seen it happen again and again where various entities say, ‘Well, there is no mental illness,’” Simpson said. “And every time I hear it, I turn red and I get angry, because I’ve seen it. I know it. I know what mental health treatment can do to people — it can change their lives, and it can change the lives of those they love. 

“But, that’s not my call,” he said. “I’m here today to try to render a fair and just sentencing.”

Simpson told Boni that, while the sentence might seem “harsh and extreme,” he could potentially be released in about four-and-a-half years.

The judge made a point of telling Boni that he has support and hope for the future.

“... And I hope that you understand and embrace that, sir,” Simpson said, “because as unfortunate, tragic as these circumstances are, you do have the ability to move forward in a positive way.”

As of Friday, Boni remained in the Park County Detention Center, awaiting transport to a Wyoming Department of Corrections facility.