Wife sentenced for harboring fugitive

POCATELLO, Idaho – A woman who harbored her fugitive spouse before he was killed in a shootout with police has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Melanie Lampien, 33, pleaded guilty to sheltering Nicholas McKenna, who had been convicted of raping a minor and robbery.

Police were seeking to arrest McKenna on a parole violation when they visited Lampien’s apartment; she told them she hadn’t seen her husband and invited them inside. As the officers searched the home, McKenna came out of a bedroom and began shooting at the officers, who returned fire.

McKenna was killed, and one police officer was wounded in the foot, another in the leg and a third was hit in his bulletproof vest. All three officers recovered.

Rejecting a plea deal that called for probation, 6th District Judge Peter McDermott ordered Lampien to serve at least three years in prison before she will be eligible for parole.