By Brooke Curley
brooke@gilavalleycentral.net
SAFFORD – Lawrence James Halamek, 34, appeared in Graham County Superior Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to one count of custodial interference, a Class-5 Felony.
Halamek appeared before Graham County Superior Court Judge Michael D. Peterson and pled guilty to the charge, which is identified as being when an individual, “[t]akes, entices or keeps from lawful custody any child, or any person who is incompetent” even though the individual knows that he has no legal authority to keep said child.
Halamek is being held on a $100,000 cash or paper bond. The plea leaves sentencing discretion up to the court, which ranges from probation to up to 2.5 years of incarceration. Halamek is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 2 at 2 p.m.
Halamek was arrested after an Amber Alert was issued in Dec. 5, 2016, when 12-year-old Savinya Kimball went missing from her school bus stop. Halamek reportedly picked up the juvenile in his blue Dodge pickup truck and took her into a mountainous region of New Mexico. After his truck broke down, the pair stayed the night and then began walking back to Arizona, according to statements made to authorities. Officers received several tips the morning of Dec. 6 that Halamek and Kimball were spotted walking along Highway 78 in the Mule Creek area of New Mexico, and a Grant County Sheriff’s officer located the pair and took Halamek into custody. No evidence was found or given that Halamek injured Kimball in any way.