Hermanns Gets First Five Months

WALLA WALLA - Former Waitsburg resident Adam Hermanns was sentenced late last week to five months in Walla Walla County Jail as part of the first of several cases against him in Superior Court.

Two more trials that could lead to much longer sentences await Hermanns, the first of which begins on Wednesday, July 13. The second has been set for July 18.

Hermanns, who pleaded guilty to the charge of theft in the second degree last month for taking automotive parts from the Waitsburg property of Todd and Beth Ann Wood on Jan. 21 this year, was ordered to be confined for 150 days. He was given credit for the 87 days he has already served since he was arrested in April after local authorities made a search for him in the Walla Walla area.

As part of the sentence, Hermanns was ordered to pay nearly $2,000 in court fees, sheriff fees, victim assessment, attorney's fees and other costs, at $50 per month starting within 10 days of his eventual release.

Judge John Lohrmann also issued a no-contact order with the Woods lasting for five years.

But that may be moot as Hermanns is expected to face many more years in prison if he is convicted of the other charges pending against him.

In May, Hermanns pleaded not guilty to five counts of criminal charges, including robbery and burglary, assault and kidnapping. He was charged mid April with three felonies that allegedly took place in January, then implicated in April in five additional felony cases reported earlier this spring in College Place.

It's not clear, if convicted, how long Hermanns would be sentence to serve. However, a mixture of five previous convictions, including the one on Friday, and the severity of his alleged new offenses require multiple-year sentences under complex state guidelines.

Court documents allege that Hermanns, armed with a handgun at his waistband and alleged accomplice Antonio Contreras, brandishing a knife, robbed a resident on Fourth Street in College Place on the night of April 3.

Further investigation by College Place police revealed testimony from Contreras that Hermanns allegedly admitted to committing a burglary on Puff Lane just days prior to the Fourth Street incident.

According to police reports, Hermanns is suspected of wearing a ski mask and arming himself with a knife, the entering the apartment of Walla Walla Union Bulletin reporter Andy Porter on the night of March 29.