Local man sentenced for leading officers on high-speed chase in stolen car with juvenile inside

BLACKFOOT — A 40-year-old local man was recently sentenced to serve up to 14 years in prison for leading officers on a high-speed chase in February while in a stolen car with a juvenile still inside the vehicle.

Brent T. Sequints Jr., of Fort Hall, received a unified sentence of 14 years, of which at least four are mandatory, during a sentencing hearing in front of 7th District Judge Darren B. Simpson on Monday.

Sequints received the sentence after pleading guilty to felony charges of grand theft and eluding officers, court records show. He was also charged with felony second-degree kidnapping but that charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement Sequints reached with Bingham County prosecutors in May.

The initial incident unfolded around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 when Blackfoot police attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a vehicle at the intersection of Pacific and Lilac streets in Blackfoot, according to a news release from the Blackfoot Police Department.

The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Sequints, immediately sped away from law enforcement, resulting in a brief pursuit that was quickly called off due to Sequints operating the vehicle in a reckless manner, police said.

“Shortly after the attempted traffic stop and vehicle pursuit, it was discovered that the vehicle in question had been reported stolen from a nearby location where the initial traffic stop was attempted,” the Blackfoot police news release said. “It was further reported that a juvenile was inside the vehicle at the time it was taken.”

Moments later, law enforcement located the suspect vehicle abandoned near the intersection of Broadway and Washington streets and the juvenile was located safe and unharmed inside the vehicle, according to the news release.

Bingham County sheriff’s deputies and Blackfoot police officers quickly identified the driver of the stolen car as Sequints and apprehended him a short while later, police said.

The criminal case was handled by Bingham County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan W. Jolley. During the sentencing hearing, Jolley recommended Sequints face a unified sentence of 14 years. Sequints attorney, Jeffrey Merle Kunz, requested a sentence of probation.

“I would like to recognize Sgt. Quinton Kraus of the Blackfoot Police Department, whose extremely rapid response to this call and expert skill in pursuing the vehicle caused Sequints to ultimately abandon the vehicle and flee the scene,” Jolley said in the news release.