ACarney couple charged with harboring a fugitive made their initial appearances in court on April 30, with both set for prepreliminary hearings on July 9, according to court documents.
Arrest warrants were issued on April 17 for James and Sandra Martin for one felony count each of harboring a fugitive from justice, court documents stated. Both were taken into custody and booked into the Lincoln County Jail on April 20, according to jail reports.
In the probable cause affidavit, Carney Police Chief John Cobb stated that he attempted to serve a felony warrant on Larry Don Beiter on March 17 at a residence in Carney, during which he made contact with the Martins.
Sandra Martin, who is Beiter’s mother, said that he was just at the residence. Cobb reported that a search was conducted, and the individual was not located. He also said that the Martins were advised to immediately contact law enforcement should Beiter return. He wrote in the report that both committed to doing so.
Cobb stated that there was no contact from the two for 10 days regarding Beiter’s whereabouts. However, during that time, the Carney Police Department received information from a confidential informant who lives on the same property that the Martins had allegedly provided shelterandfoodtoBeiteron several occasions without reporting his presence to law enforcement.
Cobb reported that on March 27, he assigned the apprehension responsibility to the United States Marshal Service.
The probable cause affidavit continues that on April 5, the Carney Police Department and U.S. Marshals received information that James and Sandra Martin once again provided shelter and food to Beiter at their residence. On April 9, the U.S. Marshals executed an attempt to apprehend Beiter at the residence, while the Martins appeared at the Carney Police Department on their own accord.
Both parties were interviewed by Cobb and the U.S. Marshals, with Cobb reporting that James alleged he had no contact with Beiter. Sandra later admitted that she had contacted him multiple times while Beiter was at large. The report states that James then changed his statement, saying he saw Beiter on March 17 and April 4, during which he reportedly told Beiter to turn himself in.
An arrest warrant was issued forBeiteronMarch17 for felony counts of aggravated possession of child sexual abuse material and distribution of obscene material or child pornography. He was located on April 10 by the U.S. Marshals task force. A news release from the U.S. Marshals Service said he was armed and pointed a shotgun at officers. Three members of the task force fired and struck Beiter several times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.