The case against a Steamboat Springs teenager who was accused of stabbing a local woman house-sitting in the city last spring reached a plea agreement Friday after the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault.

Holt LeMaster, 18, was arrested April 23, 2024, after allegedly breaking into a home on Mark Twain Court where a local preschool teacher, Kylie Leggett, 29, was house-sitting. Upon entering the home, LeMaster allegedly stabbed Leggett twice in the abdomen.

LeMaster was arrested and charged with criminal attempt to commit murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree and criminal attempt to commit first-degree burglary — all of which are felonies.

In the early morning of April 23, 2024, Leggett was alone in the home where she was house-sitting when LeMaster tried to enter the property through a sliding glass door, according to a March court document issued by 14th Judicial District Court Chief Judge Brittany Schneider.

LeMaster was texting with another juvenile who was on vacation with family on the early morning of April 23. Leggett was house-sitting the juvenile’s family home, according to the court order.

The text exchange escalated to an “argument” to the point that LeMaster “sought out (the other juvenile’s) home address, proceeded to that address armed with a knife and wearing a mask, with the intent to break into the home to do damage,” states the court order.

Leggett opened the sliding door and “began pushing at the intruder and screaming,” then “she felt something wet,” according to court documents. The intruder then “ran off” and Leggett locked the door and called 911.

The court document adds that Leggett was in the hospital for a month and underwent five surgeries. Leggett will also likely have a “portion of her pancreas removed at some point, which will render her diabetic.” 

“Prior to the incident, (Leggett) was a healthy young woman,” states Schneider’s court order. “Following the incident, among other medical and psychological ailments, (Leggett) is unable to eat normally and will be unable to bear children.”

In March, Chief Judge Schneider ruled that LeMaster would be tried as an adult, transferring his juvenile case to district court.

Although a plea agreement had been discussed in March, the case was later set for trial in Routt County following discussions about moving the case to a neighboring county due to press coverage and social media comments potentially leading to a “poisoned” jury, said Public Defender Kate Bush.

Ultimately, Routt County Judge Billy-George Hertzke considered the public’s engagement with the case, but ultimately decided that reporting on the case had not been “inflammatory.”

LeMaster was in custody at the Grand Mesa Youth Services Center in Grand Junction, without bond, since his arrest last year, where he was going through “programming,” according to Bush. He was recently transferred to the Routt County Jail after he turned 18-years-old on June 19.

During a June hearing, Deputy District Attorney Joseph Bucci asked the court to set LeMaster’s bond between $2 million and $4 million, citing LeMaster’s criminal history, violations of previous probation and seven incident reports while in custody at Grand Mesa Youth Services, where he has been reported for flipping a table and throwing milk at other detainees.

As of Friday, LeMaster remains in Routt County Jail under a $2.5 million bond, according to the Routt County Combined Courts clerk’s office.

For a Friday motions hearing, LeMaster was escorted into the courtroom by Routt County detention deputies with his hands and ankles cuffed and wearing a leather restraint around his waist over a button-down shirt.

Before sitting down between his attorneys and father, Curtis LeMaster, the 18-year-old glanced at Leggett, who was sitting in the public gallery.

When the hearing began, Hertzke noted that a plea agreement had been filed in the case, and the defense was ready to proceed with a guilty plea.

The plea agreement states that LeMaster applied for the Youthful Offender System — which is part of the Colorado Department of Corrections and located in Pueblo — where he could serve between four and six years.

If LeMaster is accepted to the Youthful Offender System, he will also receive a suspended sentence in the Department of Corrections for 10 to 20 years. Credit for time served will be up to Hertzke if the application is approved.

If he is not accepted into the Youthful Offender System, LeMaster’s sentence will be decided by Hertzke. LeMaster could face up to 17 years in the Department of Corrections if he is not admitted to the Youthful Offender System.

Bush said the warden of the Youthful Offender System could take up to 12 weeks to review LeMaster’s application.

Bucci also noted that the DA’s office and public defenders do not have experience with the Youthful Offender System in their “small jurisdiction.”

The plea agreement dismisses LeMaster’s other charges, including criminal attempt to commit murder in the second degree and criminal attempt to commit first-degree burglary.

LeMaster also admitted guilt to violating probation, a plea that ultimately dismissed two pending juvenile cases as part of the agreement. In both cases, probation is revoked and “terminated unsatisfactorily.”

The plea agreement states that restitution for crime victim compensation amounts to over $8,160, but further restitution costs will be submitted by the prosecution within 35 days of the sentencing, which could include Leggett’s medical expenses.

Ultimately, Herzke accepted LeMaster’s guilty plea to one count of first-degree assault, a Class 3 felony, as a crime of violence and extraordinary risk.

“This was a matter of, when was he going to kill someone?” Leggett told the newspaper following the hearing.

“I just have so much love and gratefulness and thankfulness for the district attorneys and the police,” continued Leggett. “They have known about the defendant and his issues for years now.”

Leggett added that it was cathartic to hear LeMaster plead guilty after over a year of recovery, court hearings and negotiations.

“It felt really good hearing him plead guilty and admit to violating probation,” she added.

To donate to Leggett’s GoFundMe, visit GoFundMe.com/f/Support-Kylies-Road-To-Recovery.