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Crime

Lanita Sue Bateman was dating Zjaiton “Jake” Wood in the early 2000s.

On January 1st, 2002, Jake and his brother, Tremane, plan to rob someone.

They include Lanita Sue Bateman and the mother of Tremane’s first child, Brandy Lynn Warden, in the plot.

The women met 19-year-old Ronnie Wipf and his friend Arnold Kleinsasser at a bar.

The two men were driving back to Texas and were only in town for a quick layover. The lovely ladies told them they wanted to hang out at the guy’s motel, and at some point, they negotiated $210 for sex, but soon Tremane and Jake were knocking at the motel door.

Wipf opened it, and the brothers rushed in while the women ran out. One of the brothers had a gun and the other had a knife.

They demanded money, and Kleinsasser gave them $68.

When they were distracted by Wipf, Kleinsasser escaped and hid. Two hours later, he came out hiding to find his friend had been fatally stabbed.

All four culprits were eventually arrested and charged with first-degree felony-murder, robbery with firearms, and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Convictions

Warden got 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to accessory to murder after the fact and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.

She revealed that the brothers robbed a pizza place hours before the fatal motel robbery.

She also agreed to testify against her co-conspirators. She later had another 10 years cut off her sentence and served 12 years before getting out in May 2014.

Bateman was offered a deal, but she turned it down and went to trial.

She was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon on June 11th, 2003.

She thought she would get 15 to life, but she was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for murder. She also received 101 years for robbery and 10 years for conspiracy, which will run together and be served after the life sentence.

She will be eligible for parole on the murder charge in 2040 when she is 58.

Jake was convicted of murder at trial and sentenced to life in prison. He killed himself in 2019.

When Tremane went to trial, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, robbery, attempted murder with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy after five hours of deliberation.

He was sentenced to death for the murder and life for the other offenses.

The 46-year-old was scheduled to be executed via lethal injection on November 13th, 2025.

A pardon and parole board recommended his sentence be commuted. Hours before he was about to die, the Governor granted him clemency and saved his life.

He is now serving life without parole.