MYRTLE CREEK ROBBER TO SERVE NEARLY 8 YEARS

A Myrtle Creek man was sentenced to nearly eight years in prison Friday for
breaking into the home of a Tri City man, beating him and stealing his
medical marijuana.

A jury convicted Jeffry T. Lindenmeier, 19, of first- and second-degree
robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, and second-degree assault on July 14
after a two-day trial. In addition to the 90-month sentence, Lindenmeier
will be subject to three years of post-prison supervision.

Lindenmeier and five others broke into the victim's mobile home in the
early morning hours of March 21, 2003, while the man was surfing the
Internet on his home computer.

Lindenmeier beat the man several times in the head with a baseball bat,
then he and the others ran away with three of the medical marijuana plants
the victim used to treat a degenerative back condition, according to police.

Douglas County sheriff's deputies followed a trail of marijuana leaves to a
nearby home, and the teenagers were arrested during the subsequent
investigation.

Although one of the other defendants, 18-year-old Buford Thomas Harper, was
initially willing to wield the bat, Lindenmeier allegedly took it because
he and the others were afraid Harper might be too rough with the victim.

As it was, the victim received several stitches to his face after the
attack, and his wife was slightly injured while trying to help him,
according to police.

Harper, who was 16 at the time of the robbery, was sentenced to 70 months
in prison. Twenty-year-old Joshua W. Lampton, who was almost 19 at the
time, received 34 months in prison.

The other defendants -- 18-year-old Shane R. Rinehart, 18-year-old Niclas
W. Ware, and 19-year-old Cole D. Carter -- each received three years probation.

When given a chance to speak, the only thing Lindenmeier had to say was,
"I'd like to ask the court If I could report to you maybe in a month, so I
can spend my 20th birthday with my family."

Although Deputy District Attorney Deb Stoll objected to the request, Judge
William Lasswell gave Lindenmeier until Sept. 8 -- two days after his
birthday -- to report to the Douglas County Jail.

"As a general rule we don't do that," Lasswell said. "A couple of times
I've gotten burned."

He expressed confidence, however, that Lindenmeier would show up as promised.