Increased bail sought in Gervasi case

SANDPOINT — An increased bail is being sought for a Bonner County man who allegedly robbed a woman at gunpoint, burned down a home in Edgemere and opened fire on a Bonner County sheriff’s deputy during a high-speed pursuit last month.

Steven Michael Gervasi is being held in lieu of $180,500 bail, although Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall has moved to increase bail to $500,000 due to the seriousness of charges he faces in Idaho and Washington state, court records show.

The state’s motion will be taken up during a scheduled preliminary hearing on June 22.

Gervasi, a 25-year-old from Samuels, is charged with robbery, aggravated assault, first-degree arson, two counts of burglary, two counts of grand theft and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Charges stemming from the armed confrontation with the deputy are pending in Pend Oreille County, Wash.

Gervasi allegedly burglarized a home and vehicle on Southside School Road on May 6 or aided and abetted Jessica Brown in the crimes. A .40-caliber pistol, an all-terrain vehicle and a trailer were stolen in the heists.

Two days later, Gervasi and Brown allegedly robbed a woman of her mobile phone, threatened her with a pistol and opened fire on her vehicle as she sped away. Gervasi is further accused of burning down a home at 913 Curtis Creek Road home on the same day as the robbery.

A sheriff’s deputy attempted to pull Gervasi over on Tweedie Road in Blanchard on May 9, touching off a high-speed chase that crossed into Washington and ended in gunfire that disabled a deputy’s sport utility vehicle in the Spring Valley.

The deputy was not hit by any incoming rounds, although authorities contend their placement on the vehicle was telling.

“While eluding in Washington, the defendant fired shots at a police unit, striking it several times in the front of the vehicle on the driver’s side — clearly attempting to shoot the officer,” Marshall said in a motion for increased bail.

Marshalled added in the motion that Gervasi is expected to be charged with attempted murder in Washington.

If Gervasi is convicted of the Idaho crimes and is handed consecutive sentences, he faces up to 127 years in prison once sentencing enhancements for using a fire arm during the robbery and assault. The robbery conviction could also result in a lifelong prison sentence.

Gervasi is barred from possessing firearms due to a conviction in a 2005 home-invasion robbery case in Samuels. Gervasi was 15 at the time of the crime, but was prosecuted as an adult.

The sentence imposed in his case called for him to be incarcerated a juvenile lockup until 19 years old.