Two sentenced to prison for possession of stolen vehicles

March 14, 2023

Daniel Lafon

A Naples man and a Bonners Ferry man will each spend time in prison after being convicted in separate cases of grand theft by possession of stolen property, both vehicles; one a Bonner County work truck and the other a Honda four wheeler offered for sale on Facebook.

Daniel Leonard Lafon, Naples, 51, will serve two to five years in prison after being charged February 14 for having possession on December 23 of a 2001 blue over silver 2001 Ford F-350 that had been stolen February 19, 2021, from S&L Insulation in Bonner County.

On December 23, 2022, sheriff's deputy Alan Schleif met with the pickup owners son-in-law at the Naples Store, who reported that an employee had seen the truck several times at a home on Deep Creek Loop, missing an aluminum ladder rack and the company decals from the driver and passenger doors.

Schlief and deputy Dave Schuman traveled to the residence and saw it on the property, parked in plain sight. While Schuman went to the house, not getting an answer to his knocking or ringing of the doorbell, Schlief went to examine the pickup, seeing the outlines of where the decals had been.

Jessee Marble

An inspection of the truck in impound revealed that the VIN plate just inside the windshield had been tampered with, with a number that returned to a 2001 Ford F250, white in color, owned by a Priest River man whose name matched that on a handwritten bill of sale taped to the inside of the rear window.

A check of a second VIN plate hidden on the vehicle matched that of the stolen Sandpoint truck.

On January 1, deputies finally found Lafon at his home and took him into custody on an outstanding Bonner County misdemeanor warrant. In addition to prison, with credit for three days served, Lafon was ordered to pay $245.50 costs and $4,034.93 in restitution. A second charge, a persistent violator enhancement, was dismissed.

On June 13, 2022, Jessee Lee Marble, 48, Bonners Ferry, was charged with grand theft by possession of stolen property for having, between May 5 and May 26, 2022, a 2003 Honda Foreman TRX 450 ATV.

On May 26, 2022, detective Caleb Watts came across a Facebook ad offering the sale of a Honda four wheeler matching the description of one stolen recently in the county. He and detective Travis Stolley contacted the seller and set up a meeting for the next day in Kootenai, Idaho. Having matched the VIN, the seller, with the title in the bib pocket of his overalls, was confronted with the fact that the machine was stolen and said he'd purchased the Honda from Jessee and a Bonners Ferry woman he'd known for years for $500, that the two had delivered it and that Jessee provided him the title and described the four-wheeler as a repo.

Marble was sentenced to one year in prison, determinate, six years indeterminate, with credit for three days served. and ordered to pay $245.50 costs and $1,865 plus interest in restitution, giving the state six months to increase the amount if deemed appropriate.