Home invasion nets 10+ years

Jeremiah James LaFave, 27, Pomeroy, was sentenced Sept. 29 to 121 months in prison for robbery and burglary charges following what police described as a home invasion May 31 on Northwood Drive in Pullman. LaFave was sentenced to 61 months, the maximum under state guidelines, for robbery plus another 60 months for using a gun to threaten the victim.

LaFave’s criminal record, including two attempting to elude convictions and a felony conviction for possession of methamphetamine in Mulnomah County, Ore., led to an offender rating of three in the sentencing grid. Four other charges against him were dismissed under a plea bargain agreement.

He was also ordered to pay $2,800 in fines and fees, including $1,000 restitution to the victim. LaFave was arrested June 4 at the home of a relative in Stites, Idaho, and jailed at Grangeville for several days before being brought here.

LaFave’s co-defendant, Matthew White, Clarkston, has been slated for a plea and sentencing Oct. 14. White, 35, Clarkston, had been scheduled for a Nov. 14 trial.

LaFave and White were charged after the victim told Pullman Police two men forced their way into his residence on Northwood Drive and used a cable to keep him in the bathroom while they took items from the apartment.

One factor in solving the case was a review of surveillance tapes from Dissmore’s in Pullman in the hours before the home invasion. LaFave and White were seen on the tapes shopping for items used in the home invasion later that night, the police report said.

In a warrant of commitment filed Monday, LaFave was credited with 68 days spent in jail awaiting resolution.