Teen admits to killing man in Snohomish

By Jennifer Sullivan
Times Snohomish County Bureau

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Jeremy Boone, 16, is escorted back to jail after pleading guilty in a Snohomish County court to killing Larry Kloes of Snohomish.

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Jeremy Boone pleaded guilty yesterday to first-degree charges of murder, robbery and burglary. Boone is to be sentenced Oct. 21, and prosecutors will recommend that he receive 40 years in prison for Larry Kloes' slaying.

As part of his plea agreement, Boone will testify against co-defendants Perry Rothermel, 18, of Puyallup and a 15-year-old Bonney Lake boy. Deputy Prosecutor Matt Hunter said that in exchange for the guilty plea, he didn't charge Boone with aggravated first-degree murder.

Defense attorney Stephen Garvey said Boone will testify next week against the 15-year-old, who prosecutors said came up with the plan to rob and kill Kloes. Prosecutors want to try the 15-year-old as an adult for aggravated first-degree murder. But because of his age he will appear in a hearing that will determine whether he will be tried in adult court.

The Seattle Times generally does not name juvenile defendants unless they are charged as adults.

	Larry Kloes was slain in an attack in June.

Prosecutors say the 15-year-old recruited Boone and Rothermel to participate in the robbery and slaying because the 15-year-old was angry at Kloes. In May, Kloes contacted Snohomish police to report that the teen tried to steal his guns and sports car. The boy is the son of Kloes' former girlfriend.

On the night of June 25, Boone, Rothermel and the 15-year-old drove to Snohomish armed with golf clubs and a baseball bat, prosecutors say. Early the following morning, Rothermel and the 15-year-old sneaked into the home while Boone knocked on the front door to lure Kloes downstairs, according to charging papers.

When Kloes entered the kitchen, Rothermel struck hit him on the head with a baseball bat, according to the papers. Kloes fled upstairs to his bedroom and held the door shut. Over the next several hours the three teens threatened Kloes to get him to open his gun safe, according to the court papers. In his plea, Boone admitted shooting Kloes soon after Kloes emerged to open the safe.

Hunter said Rothermel is scheduled to be tried Oct. 8 for first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery.

Leila Kloes, mother of the victim, said yesterday that Boone's plea "doesn't give us any joy."

"It's a tragedy for the Boone family as it is for our family," she said after the hearing. "Larry at least had a chance to have a life that Jeremy will never have a chance to experience."

Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

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