Idaho carjacking suspect sentenced for attempted kidnapping, escape

BOISE – An Idaho carjacking suspect who was arrested on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana has been sentenced to up to 13 years in prison for attempted second-degree kidnapping and escape.

Rodney Lee Seiber, of Caldwell, pleaded guilty to the charges in August under a plea agreement that calls for him to spend at least six years in prison.

District Judge Lynn Norton sentenced Seiber last week to three years in prison on each felony charge, followed by five years indeterminate on the kidnapping charge and two years indeterminate on the escape charge.

Seiber, 37, was being sought by law enforcement in September 2013 after a van was stolen at knifepoint in Nampa. Court records say he fled into a corn field after crashing the van. Seiber was located the next week at a motel in Hardin, Montana, with his 18-year-old girlfriend.

He fled but was arrested a few days later after crashing a stolen all-terrain vehicle. On his return trip to Idaho he briefly escaped from transport guards at a Boise convenience store. A woman reported he tried to steal her car at knifepoint but she drove away. He surrendered about 30 minutes later.

Seiber was taken to jail but released from custody a month later after developing a life-threatening illness. He was hospitalized in a coma and on life support.

Seiber made a full recovery and left the hospital without anyone alerting police. He was arrested again in July by officers investigating a trespassing complaint.

He could still face charges in the Nampa carjacking case.