Jose Diaz-Macias appeared before Justice of the Peace, Ben Trotter, Thursday, July 16th. Diaz, who was transported to Churchill County from Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City faced arraignment after previous charges were amended. Defense counsel Jacob Sommer notified the court that Diaz was uncomfortable with the court translator, however with no other court-certified translator available, Judge Trotter continued the proceedings. In addition to his issue with the translator, Diaz expressed confusion about the hearing stating, “I don’t know why I am here.”
Diaz was arraigned on three counts of assault with a deadly weapon in which he allegedly pointed a gun at multiple individuals at or near 385 Stillwater Avenue on April 10th of this year. He had been previously arraigned on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon stemming from the same incident. Diaz was also charged with the misdemeanor charge of allegedly “aiming a firearm at a person,” which is punishable by up to 364 days the county jail. In Nevada, it is unlawful to point a gun a human being regardless of whether or not there is any intention to pull the trigger. Additionally, Diaz has a prior felony conviction of battery with a deadly weapon from 2008. An additional felony charge was also added for Diaz being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm. The alleged victims in the combined felony charges include Jessie Fritz, Rikki Nuesmeyer, Josh Porter, and Brandon Baglin. The alleged victim in the misdemeanor charge is Clay Herb of whom Diaz stated, “I don’t know who that is.” Diaz also claimed to never have had a firearm.
Judge Trotter informed Diaz that he could not hear statements or answer questions about the case during the arraignment of which the purpose is a formal reading of the charges to ensure the defendant understands those charges against him and his rights. Diaz was scheduled to be returned to the custody of NDOC the same day. His next hearing is set for August 6th at 1:30 PM.
David Meza appeared on two DUI charges. During the first charge from earlier this year, a traffic accident ensued and Meza allegedly had a blood alcohol level, BOL, of at least .26. He was also charged with having an open container in a motor vehicle and on driving suspend or revoked license. In the second charge from late June, Meza registered a .33 BOL. He was also charged with a registration violation, due care, and no proof of insurance. Charles Woodman Esq., defense counsel for Meza, reported to the court that Meza claimed to have no recollection of the incident.
Meza entered a plea of no contest to the DUI charges and will appear at a later date for sentencing. All other charges were dropped in both cases.
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