Trial set for local man charged with kidnapping and aggravated battery
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IDAHO FALLS – An Idaho Falls man who was charged with kidnapping pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and a jury trial has been set.
Jeffery Scott Larue, 30, will stand trial in front of District Judge Michael Whyte on April 11.
Larue pleaded not guilty to charges of felony second-degree kidnapping, felony aggravated battery, and felony witness intimidation during an arraignment in district court.
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According to court documents, Larue and a woman were together at a hotel in Bonneville County on Sept. 4.
The two reportedly began arguing and the victim called Larue “dangerous.” Documents say he responded by throwing a plastic deodorant container which hit the victim’s face.
The container broke the victim’s tooth off at the root and split her lip. Larue then held her down on the bed, documents say, as the victim fought free before leaving the hotel room.
Larue later confessed to police officers but claimed the deodorant container was not aimed at the victim’s face, documents said.
After getting out of the room, the victim went to her parked car behind the hotel. As she attempted to get into her vehicle, Larue allegedly grabbed her from behind, picked her up, and forced her into his own vehicle.
He then drove the victim to River Walk Dr. where the victim tried to escape. Larue got out of his vehicle and ran after her, but police reports say Larue grabbed her and forced the victim back into his vehicle.
According to documents, this portion of the incident was caught on security cameras.
Larue then took the victim to Tautphaus Park. At the park, both of them got out of the vehicle. She was crying and Larue tried to console her.
The victim tried escaping from him again by quickly walking away from him. Larue got into his vehicle and chased after the victim, court documents say.
He caught the victim and began dragging her back to his vehicle as she screamed and cried while dragging her heels in the dirt.
A witness saw what happened and intervened, causing Larue to stop, documents say.
Once the victim was safe inside the witness’s vehicle, Larue sent her 44 different texts.
Some of the texts read, “Get out of her car and start walking now do not let the cops get called on me please I’m begging you I’m so sorry, let me fix this” and “Call me now dammit.”
One text read in part, “Well I guess I’ll see you in court if you press charges then I WILL press the charges back just know that THEY took photos of my injuries as well YOU GOT ME pretty good…YOU F***** ME UP. Let all this go in peace I don’t want to press charges against you too but I will if you try.”
The witness took the victim to the police station to file a police report, and Larue was booked into the Bonneville County Jail on Nov. 11, after charges were filed two months after the incident.
Though Larue has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If convicted, Larue could face up to 44 years in prison. His next scheduled court appearance is a pre-trial conference on March 6.