Four sentenced in fatal Boise robbery outside gas station. One awaits trial
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- Four conspirators received prison terms for planning a fatal 2024 Boise robbery.
- Natalie Kemper planned the crime; Torres, the victim of the robbery, awaits trial in 2026.
- Judges imposed rider programs on two defendants with options for future probation.
It all started over a car.
On the night of Oct. 28, 2024, Natalie Kemper with the help of her boyfriend, Andrew Lucas, and three other men — Daydreyn Pelton, Nicholaus Kyser and Nicholas Tenney — coordinated a plan to steal back a vehicle from Eliseo Torres, according to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.
The robbery didn’t go as planned. Torres allegedly stabbed one of the men, 31-year-old Tenney, who died hours later in at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, according to the Ada County Coroner’s Office. All five of the people involved were charged with crimes, but prosecutors pinned one person as mainly responsible: Kemper.
Kemper, 29, pleaded guilty to conspiracy for grand theft and was sentenced to a maximum of 14 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after five. Fourth Judicial District Judge Nancy Baskin put her sentence on hold for a “rider,” which could offer a prison release within a year upon completion of a mental health program.
Kemper argued with Torres over the ownership of the vehicle and pushed the men to confront him, but paperwork showed Torres had “lawful possession and ownership of that vehicle” at the time of the crime, Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Michael Guy said in court. Kemper was the one who reached out to get help from the men in getting her car back and told Lucas that they would take everything from Torres, “including his manhood,” Guy added.
And she appeared to relish in it, Guy added.
“She planned, recruited and coordinated what is best described as a robbery of Mr. Torres,” he said in court last month. “She was preparing to get her car back by whatever means necessary.”
Fourth District Judicial District Judge Nancy Baskin agreed. Though three of the men beat Torres, Kemper planned the crime, the judge said, and didn’t understand the impact of her decision.
Baskin placed her on the sentencing option known as a rider for “evaluative purposes only.” She recommended Kemper receive counseling and treatment while she’s incarcerated, and could be placed on probation after she completed the program.
“So take this rider opportunity seriously,” Baskin said at her July 23 sentencing. “You’ll be back in front of this court, and I’ll make a final determination on your case.”
Kemper apologized for her actions and said she carried the burden of her actions with her every day.
“Not only have I lost a dear friend, I’ve lost my home, my car, my entire life. Most importantly, I’ve lost my children,” Kemper said, adding that her 4-year-old son could be adopted by October. “I may never see him — my whole heart and soul — ever again. I am doing everything in my power to better myself and be the mother my children desperately need me to be.”
Lucas, Pelton and Kyser all also pleaded guilty to conspiracy for grand theft and will serve prison time. Torres faces seven felony charges, including a second-degree murder charge, with his jury trial set for January 2026.
‘You can turn this around’: Baskin offers rehabilitative option
Boise police officers responded to a Maverik Adventure’s First Stop off of West Ustick Road, just before 12:30 a.m. where they said they found Tenney in the parking lot with a stab wound. Officers also saw a man, later identified as Torres, running south on Cole Road, according to the Police Department. Torres and Pelton, who was also found in the area, were booked into the Ada County Jail. Within the next two days, police arrested Kyser, Lucas and Kemper, according to a news release at the time.
Lucas, 26, was sentenced to the most severe punishment of the three men who pleaded guilty. Baskin sentenced him to at least five years in prison with another eight years in prison, on parole or both. That sentence will be served concurrently with a previous sentence, for which he was on parole at the time of the theft.
“I would just like to apologize to the courts, the community, my friends and family, the family of the deceased and, of course, the victim,” Lucas said in a brief statement.
Baskin pointed out that Lucas has been given the “rehabilitative option twice,” with two riders for previous crimes. “You’ve just got to figure out how to follow the rules,” Baskin said. “Otherwise, it will become this revolving door that I don’t really think you want — to give up your freedom for the rest of your life by going in and out of custody at all times.”
Pelton was given an option to avoid a lengthy incarceration. Baskin sentenced the 25-year-old to a maximum of 10 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after four.
But she suspended that sentence and placed him on an up to a yearlong rider to receive substance abuse treatment. If he completes that program successfully, he could be placed on probation, though Baskin warned him that even if he “knock(ed) this rider out of the park,” he might need to spend some more time behind bars because of the serious nature of the crime.
“You’re 25, you can turn this around. I truly believe that,” she said. “Is it going to be easy? Heck no, but it can be done.”
Pelton said in court that his addiction is the root of his actions and asked for an opportunity to recover and change his behavior, adding that “this situation is a start of a trajectory towards change.” He said he didn’t think anyone involved in the incident that night expected events to escalate the way they did.
“Me, personally, my mind was so clouded I did not make a better decision. Unfortunately, the decision I did make ultimately led me to where I am today,” Pelton said. “Judge Baskin, I do understand the series can set the charge. I do understand the seriousness of the situation, and based off my time in the courtroom, with you, Judge Baskin, I do understand that my actions will not be tolerated, but they will be prosecuted.”
“With that being said, I do take full responsibility of my actions and the harm that I cause in the community,” he added.
Kyser, 35, was sentenced to seven years in prison with the possibility of parole after two years by 4th District Judicial Judge Deborah Bail. He’ll also receive credit for the 259 days he already spent incarcerated at the Ada County Jail.
“I think you need more time just plain away from drugs,” Bail said. “I know it’s possible for people to get drugs inside, but I also think you saw what happened to your friend, and there are people who are staying sober inside and who are making advances in dealing with it.”
