EVANSTON — A Robertson man who was facing up to five decades in prison after being convicted in March of several counts of stalking, intimidating/influencing/impeding a witness and violating orders of protection has been sentenced. 

Chet Walker, 42, will serve up to 19.5 years behind bars for crimes against his former wife. During the Wednesday, June 25, proceeding, he was also ordered to pay his ex-spouse $2,230 in restitution for broken or missing items including a cellphone and locks for the doors and windows of the woman’s home.

“This behavior was as extreme as I can imagine,” said Third District Court Judge James Kaste. “If there was more [time] allowed by law, I would probably do that.”

In the three and half months since Walker’s conviction, Kaste said he’d kept the enormous 1,200-page binder of digital communication evidence, which spanned three months during the summer of 2024, on his desk and read every single page of the correspondence.

“I can only describe this conduct as terrorizing — terrorizing the woman you claim to love and the mother of your children,” Kaste said. 

The judge also said that Walker had “manipulated her in every way possible” and that her safety was absolutely not guaranteed because he demonstrated a gross lack of impulse control over several months, including a road rage incident involving the woman driving with their young children and an incident in which he showed up at the woman’s place of employment despite an order of protection prohibiting him from doing so.

Three weeks prior to Walker’s September 2024 arrest, there was also a physical altercation outside of a daycare facility witnessed by their children.

Kaste was further incensed at Walker’s willful and persistent violation of court orders to leave his ex alone.

“If you break a no-contact order, there will be consequences,” Kaste said. “A court order has meaning. There is no excuse for violating an order of the court.”

“Relationships are bilateral,” Kaste said during his conclusion. “She gets to decide for herself that the relationship is over; you don’t get to force someone to stay in a relationship with you.”

Walker’s public defender, Kristen Schlattmann of Worland, had appealed for a suspended sentence and six years of supervised probation while acknowledging the serious nature of the charges.

“It impacts so many parts of our community,” she said, advocating for Walker to have the opportunity to raise his children.

Walker’s parents spoke on his behalf, saying that they had each lost their fathers at a young age and were concerned about Walker’s absence in the lives of his young daughters.

Although Kaste later stated that Walker’s conduct in front of the former couple’s children sent the message that “dysfunctional, abusive, manipulative relationships are OK.”

Schlattmann and Walker’s parents also maintained that Walker could still contribute to society through continued education and gainful employment. However, Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson Kallas reminded the judge that Walker had been unemployed for an entire year prior to his arrest, leaving his former spouse to be the family’s sole provider.

Walker spoke on his own behalf, apologizing to his ex-wife “for any hardships and problems caused.” However, Walker added, “I would rather admit mistakes I made and not mention both of our mistakes.”

“I’m not a dangerous person and I won’t continue living my life leading others to believe that I am,” Walker said. “I guarantee I won’t make these mistakes again.”

The victim also had the opportunity to address the court.

“I stand on truth and usually alone,” she said, indicating that the Bridger Valley community had rallied its support behind Walker in the months since his arrest and conviction. “I have no friends, no family or the reputation of Chet,” she said.

The woman said that she has been and will continue to be sole provider and caretaker of their children.

“I haven’t had the time to reflect or heal,” she said, referencing the fact that she’s had to work and parent alone full-time, unlike Walker, who has had ample free time during incarceration and access to weekly therapeutic resources.

“I would do it again,” she said. “I know for a fact that I helped pave the way for others in the future.”

She also expressed gratitude to those in Uinta County who have believed and supported her along the way.

Kallas called Walker’s actions “mechanisms of violence,” including intense jealousy and possessiveness, verbal and emotional abuse and constantly interfering with the woman’s ability to financially support herself and their children by harassing her at work and during all hours of the night. She asserted that Walker’s behavior went well beyond the defined statutes of domestic violence due to “a continuing course of manipulation, verbal and emotional abuse.”

“This case has led to substantial change in how law enforcement sees domestic violence in Uinta County and just how dangerous a circumstance can get,” Kallas said.

Kallas, in a follow-up interview, told the Herald, “This case was difficult for me and for officers ... candidly, we did not consider enough ... how an environment can distort a person, their personality or their reactions. In this case, there were instances of reactive violence.”

There were, according to Kallas, several missed opportunities to cue into reasons why the victim was seemingly cooperative and inviting toward Walker despite their contentious relationship and court orders to stay away from each other. 

“Then we see 1,000-plus pages of messages and phone calls that demonstrate it all — degrading, threatening, begging, etc., to demand compliance,” Kallas said. “We didn’t look to see the threats of suicide, the offers of money for a desperate, single mom, the 60-plus messages in an hour.”

“In short, abuse doesn’t occur in a bubble, so look at the bigger picture,” Kallas said. “This has opened our eyes to prod for the bigger picture.”

During sentencing arguments, Kallas said that probation was an inappropriate sentence for Walker because he still fails to accept accountability for his actions.

“He blames his wife for his conduct and behavior,” Kallas said. “… Today, Mr. Walker said, ‘We both did it.’ We still have an individual who cannot help himself.”

Walker’s pre-sentence investigation also concluded he posed a high risk to reoffend.

“Mr. Walker must find a space where he will no longer be a risk,” Kallas concluded. “He is not there yet.”

Walker has been incarcerated at the Uinta County Detention Center for the past nine months and will remain there for another eight to nine months before transferring to the state penitentiary in Rawlins.

“With credit for time served (277 days) and parole, he should be home in less than 9 years,” Kallas explained to the Herald.

He will also pay a variety of court costs and fees. He has 30 days to appeal his sentence.

The state also requested and received $1,087 in prosecution costs, which include reimbursement for mileage, appearance fees and meals for the several witnesses called to testify during the trial.