Fleet-footed car thief imprisoned

SANDPOINT — A Washington state man who led authorities on a frantic high-speed chase involving two stolen vehicles was sentenced Monday to four concurrent prison sentences.

Jimokai C. Colvin was given two nine-year sentences for grand theft and grand theft by possession, and a six-year sentence for possession of methamphetamine. He’ll have to serve at least three years of the sentences before becoming eligible for parole.

Colvin, a 31-year-old from Spokane, was also ordered to serve two to five years on a felony eluding charge.

Colvin was arrested on Feb. 1, after leading Idaho State Police and Bonner County Sheriff’s deputies on a chase through Priest River. Trooper Chris Yount attempted to stop Colvin for speeding on U.S. Highway 2.

The vehicle Colvin was driving was reported stolen from a rental car agency. He ended up crashing the boosted Hyundai into a snow bank, but fled to a nearby residence and made off with a woman’s Suzuki sport utility vehicle. The chase continued up Highway 57, but Colvin crashed south of Nordman and attempted to continue his flight on foot.

Colvin, however, became mired in chest-deep snow and was apprehended.

Colvin apologized to the court and the Priest River woman whose vehicle was wrecked. A vacuum cleaner inside the SUV was also ruined.

“I don’t really have anything to say in my defense,” said Colvin, who has been in custody since the episode.

The woman used the vehicle and vacuum to make her living.

“Obviously, your acts have made life for (the victim) and her family most difficult,” District Judge Steve Verby said.

Colvin’s attorney, Chief Deputy Public Defender Janet Whitney, said her client is facing at least two years in prison for offenses in Washington state and recommended a prison sentence with retained jurisdiction, which would have made Colvin eligible for release after six months.

Deputy Prosecutor Roger Hanlon recommended concurrent sentences of four to 12 years.