Suspect in April 2024 kidnapping, pursuit sentenced

WALLA WALLA – A Walla Walla man arrested following the kidnapping of a 3-year-old child and eluding law enforcement in April 2024 was sentenced Monday by Walla Walla County Superior Court Judge Brandon Johnson.

Stephan Lee Cleveland, 27, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for second-degree kidnapping. He also received a sentence of 364 days each for reckless driving and violating protection orders in April and June 2024.

Cleveland’s defense attorney, Nicholas A. Holce, said his sentence also carries 18 months of Department of Corrections supervision upon release. Cleveland’s sentence is to also run concurrent with any sentence he’s currently facing with DOC on prior causes. He must also register as a kidnapping offender.

Cleveland originally faced a total of 13 charges following the April 22, 2024, kidnapping that began in Burbank. It led to a pursuit which ended near Umatilla. Cleveland was arrested four days later in Walla Walla County after attempting to elude law enforcement.

In January, Cleveland entered an Alford Plea, which is defined as a defendant admitting that the prosecution has enough evidence to likely convict them. The defendant accepts the consequences of a guilty verdict, and the plea avoids a full criminal trial. Prior to sentencing, Johnson said this had been a heavily negotiated case.

---

• 
• 

• 
• 

• 
• 

---

---