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HOLBROOK, Idaho — Nearly two years after three people were killed in a home in southern Idaho, authorities announced Thursday that a Utah man has been arrested in connection with the crimes.
Severo Luera, 35, of Tremonton, was arrested in the April 2013 incident. He was booked Jan. 30 for investigation of first-degree murder and aiding and abetting charges out of Idaho, according to a Box Elder County Jail official. He is currently awaiting extradition.
The Oneida County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest but declined to say more, referring all questions to the Idaho Attorney General's Office.
In 2013, police found the bodies of Yavette Chivon Carter, 27, Trent Jon Christensen, 32, and Brent L. Christensen, 61, inside their Holbrook, Idaho, home in an isolated area about 20 miles west of Malad. All three had been shot to death. Carter and Trent Christensen's 2-year-old and 2-month-old daughters were found unharmed.
A suspected dog fighting operation was also found on the property. A total of 63 pit bulls were seized and first taken to a facility in Pocatello. Later — with an escort from Idaho state police — they were taken to a larger and more secure Idaho Humane Society in Boise, where many were adopted out to new homes.
The dogs were reported to be underweight and suffering from malnutrition and overall in very poor condition when they were found. Many of the dogs had open lacerations and extensive scarring from old wounds — some suspected of being recently involved in fighting.
According to Utah state court records, Luera was charged recently with misdemeanor drug possession. He was also found guilty of having a "vicious dog," a class C misdemeanor in Garland City Justice Court in 2010. In 2002, he was convicted of felony drug distribution and sentenced to a year in jail. He was also convicted of misdemeanor drug possession in 2001 and unlawfully selling or supplying alcohol to minors in 2001.
Anyone with information about the homicides is encouraged to contact the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office at 208-766-2251.
