More charges for Lafore

Kodi A. Lafore

A Waterloo man charged earlier this year in Randolph County in connection with the stabbing death of a man near Red Bud is in more hot water following his arrest late Thursday night in rural Monroe County.

Now, the prosecutor in the Randolph County case is asking a judge to raise or revoke his bond.

Kodi A. Lafore, 23, was arrested by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department following a traffic stop near Prairie du Rocher for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and on a Randolph County warrant for deceptive practice.

The bond on Lafore’s new charges has been set at $250,000. He was still in custody at the Monroe County Jail in Waterloo as of Monday.

Lafore had been free on bond while preparing to stand trial for second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter following the Jan. 6 stabbing death of 36-year-old Adam Sesto in rural Red Bud.

He is being represented by prominent St. Louis defense attorney Scott Rosenblum in that case. His trial was set to start Jan. 14, 2019 at the Randolph County Courthouse in Chester, Judge Dennis Doyle presiding.

A stipulation as part of Lafore being free on bond, however, was that he not possess a knife.

According to a petition filed Monday by Randolph County State’s Attorney Jeremy Walker  to increase or revoke Lafore’s bond based on the new charges, Lafore was in possession of a knife during his Thursday arrest. Police confirmed that Lafore was in possession of a pocketknife during the arrest.

No date had been set to hear Walker’s petition as of Monday.

Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing said his department was contacted by a resident in the 4500 block of Regtown Road in far southern Monroe County shortly before 10:30 p.m. Thursday, after the caller observed a suspicious vehicle shining a bright LED light on sheds in the area.

A deputy conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle on Bluff Road and identified one of the occupants as Lafore.

More than five grams of meth were located inside the vehicle, as was marijuana and firearm ammunition.

Lafore and the other vehicle occupant, Heather N. Jones, 35, of Columbia, were arrested for possession of meth with intent to deliver.

Jones also remains in custody at the Monroe County Jail with bond set at $25,000.

In addition to his charges in Randolph and Monroe counties, Lafore has pending misdemeanor charges for battery in St. Clair County stemming from incidents on July 7, 2017 and Jan. 1, 2018, according to court information.

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Corey Saathoff

Corey is the editor of the Republic-Times. He has worked at the newspaper since 2004, and currently resides in Columbia. He is also the principal singer-songwriter and plays guitar in St. Louis area country-rock band The Trophy Mules.
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