Prineville woman gets 6 years for stabbing boyfriend 8 times

A 49-year-old Prineville-area woman has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for stabbing her boyfriend eight times during a dispute in late 2017, Crook County District Attorney Wade Whiting said Wednesday.

Larisa Lorene Rollins received a 70-month sentence Tuesday afternoon from Crook County Circuit Judge Daina Vitolins, who convicted her after a two-day non-jury trial, Whiting said. She was convicted of second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, both involving domestic violence, and two counts of harassment.

Whiting said the sentence included no eligibility for any form of early release from custody and three years of post-prison supervision.

Around 10 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2017, Crook County 911 dispatchers got a call regarding a woman who had stabbed her boyfriend with a knife during a domestic dispute at a home on Northeast Barnes Road, just outside of Prineville. Both Crook County sheriff’s deputies and Prineville police responded.

While en route, Deputy Tim Durheim spotted a vehicle matching the description of a male roommate’s vehicle as the roommate was driving the victim to the hospital. The deputy escorted the vehicle to the hospital, located a wheelchair and rushed the victim into the emergency room for medical treatment.

The victim had been stabbed eight times, including wounds to his head, back, shoulder, abdomen and legs. He was hospitalized for several days, requiring surgery for injuries to his internal organs, the DA said. The sheriff’s office identified the victim as Michael Cross, then 51.

During the course of the investigation, Whiting said, it was determined that Rollins had been drinking throughout the day and accusing Cross and a roommate of being involved in a romantic relationship.

Over the course of several hours, Rollins directed obscenities and homophobic slurs at the victim and roommate, Whiting said. Rollins ransacked the home, destroyed personal property of the victim and locked everyone out of the house.

When the victim and roommate were able to gain entry into the home, Rollins verbally and then physically attacked the roommate. The victim intervened and a brief physical struggle ended with Rollins in a bedroom and the victim walking away into the kitchen area.

According to testimony at the trial, Rollins remained in the bedroom by herself for about 40 seconds before running toward the victim in the kitchen.

Rollins first stabbed Cross in the back with a steak knife and then proceeded to stab him seven additional times.

Rollins claimed she acted in self-defense and was justified in stabbing her boyfriend. But the district attorney said the evidence presented by the state at the trial negated the defense and Rollins was found guilty on all charges.

During sentencing, prosecutors asked that Rollins be sentenced to a mandatory prison sentence for the violent attack that resulted in significant injuries to the victim. The defense argued the mandatory prison sentence as required under Measure 11 would be inappropriate in this case.

The victim and rooommate testified at the trial, Whiting said.

The court sentenced Rollins to the mandatory 70-month prison sentence, noting that Rollins could have killed the victim during the assault and she had shown a complete lack of remorse during her interviews with police and during her testimony at trial. The defendant declined to make a statement before Vitolins imposed her sentence.

The state was represented by Whiting and Rollins was represented by Jennifer Kimble.