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Lethrud gets chance to avoid hard time
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May 29, 2012 |
By Mike Weland
 Preston
Lethrud, 23, Bonners Ferry, was sentenced to up
to seven years in prison on a charge of
aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and up
to six years for second degree kidnapping May 8,
but Judge Steve Verby gave him a chance to avoid
prison.
Lethrud pled guilty to both felony charges,
stemming from a night-long incident with his
then-girlfriend on Friday evening, November 29,
2011. According to court records, Lethrud was at
the woman's home in Moyie Springs watching
television and playing video games when he began
drinking and demanding sex, despite the fact
that she was nine months pregnant andclose to
term.
When she refused, records say, Lethrud began
verbally abyusing her, but she was able to calm
him down enough that she could drive him to his
parents home on Chippewa Street in Bonners
Ferry, where he was staying.
When she dropped him off and began driving away,
his temper flared again, and he grabbed up a
two-by-four board and tried to keep her from
leaving. She was again able to calm him down,
even as he became physically abusive, and
finally able to drive away and return to her
home, where, shaken and exhausted, she fell
asleep on the couch.
Her sleep didn't last long; instead of himself
going to bed to sleep it off, Lethrud drove
himself back to her house, where he gained
entrance by breaking out a back window. Once
inside and armed with a butcher knife, he
dragged her off the couch and into her bedroom,
where he threw her on the bed, put the knife to
her throat and threatened to kill her.
He kept her in fear through the night, until he
finally fell asleep. She was thewn able to call
a co-worker at Three Mile Cafe, where she was
expected for her last day of work before going
on maternity leave. At 9:45 a.m. Saturday, her
co-worker called 911.
Sheriff's detective Dave McClelland was first to
arrive at the victim's home, but when she
answered his knock on the door, she denied that
anything was wrong. By her actions, McClelland
realized that she was afraid to speak, and he
asked her to step outside so they could talk.
She broke down crying and complied, and he drove
her to the sheriffs office, where women from the
Victim's Advocate program and a female officer
were waiting to help her cope with her ordeal.
At around 10:45 a.m., after the woman described
events of the previous night, McClelland
returned to her home, where he found Lethrud
sleeping. He was taken into custody without
incident, and jailed in lieu of $150,000 bond on
charges of aggravated assault, domestic battery
and unlawful entry.
At Lethrud's preliminary hearing in December,
deputy prosecutor Tevis Hull added the
additional charge of second degree kidnapping.
In a plea agreement in which the misdemeanor
counts of domestic battery and unlawful entry,
Letrud pled guilty to the more serious felony
charges.
Judge Verby accepted his plea, and handed down
the prison sentences, which he suspended,
retaining jurisdiction. If Lethrud is able to
successfully complete a program at the Idaho
Correctional Institution in Cottonwood, the
judge could put him on probation; if he doesn't,
Lethrud will have to serve out his terms.
In addition to time, Letrud has also been
ordered to pay fines of $500 for each guilty
plea, plus a total of $751 in court costs. |
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