LOVE AFTER LOCKUP Judge denies LaTisha Collier’s attempt to get out of guilty pleas, sentencing next week

Love During Lockup and Life After Lockup star LaTisha Collier’s attempt to back out of her plea deal in multiple felony cases was denied by an Iowa judge earlier today.

Due to the habitual offender enhancement, LaTisha looks to be facing a minimum of three years in prison before being eligible for parole. Her sentencing is scheduled for next week.

As Starcasm was the first to report, 39-year-old LaTisha attempted to get out of a plea deal she agreed to in April. As part of the deal, LaTisha pleaded guilty to felony theft and forgery charges and acknowledged that she would be sentenced as a habitual offender due to her prior felony convictions. Her 2025 felony identity theft and misdemeanor marijuana possession charges were dismissed.

LaTisha filed a Motion In Arrest Of Judgment on May 26. In her motion, LaTisha claimed she felt pressure due to a pending trial date for one of the cases. She also had “growing concerns about the strength of the State’s evidence and the credibility issues surrounding key witnesses.”

Prosecutors filed a lengthy response to LaTisha’s attempt to back out of the plea agreement on June 25. (Click here for a full recap of that filing.)

JUDGE DENIES LATISHA COLLIER’S ATTEMPT TO BACK OUT OF PLEA DEAL

There was a hearing in Iowa court on July 1 to address LaTisha’s Motion In Arrest Of Judgment. The District Court Judge took his time to consider the arguments and filed his order denying LaTisha’s motion earlier today.

“During the hearing on the motion in arrest the Court confirmed the Defendant signed the plea agreement and the written plea of guilty after reviewing the same with her attorney,” the judge writes.

More from the filing:

The Court does not find the feigned ignorance about the case timelines credible. The Defendant received a significant benefit through this plea agreement avoiding not one, but two, habitual offender enhancements and having a third case (SRCR453818) and a class C felony (Count 1 of FECR450918) dismissed. It is possible that the Defendant may have wanted a trial in FECR450918, but it appears much more likely that she was offered this favorable plea agreement to resolve all of her charges and decided it was better to plead guilty than to negotiate each case individually.

In sum, the Court does not find that the Defendant has met her burden pursuant to §814.29 to demonstrate that it was more likely than not that she would not have pled guilty. The Court does not find a defect in the plea agreement or guilty plea documents that would invalidate her plea. The Court does not find her assertions that the plea was involuntary credible.

For these reasons the motion in arrest of judgment shall be Denied.

Starcasm will continue to monitor LaTisha’s case and we will update this post if there are any new developments — including a delay in her sentencing.

Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com