Tenth Judicial District Court Tuesday, October 8 – Judge Thomas Stockard Presiding

Taylor James John Vaughn appeared via Zoom, in custody in New Town, Connecticut, for sentencing on the Category E Felony of Possession or Sale of a Document for Personal Identifying Information to Establish a False Status or Identity.

Deputy District Attorney Chelsea Sanford said this is a mandatory probation case and asked for a suspended sentence that runs consecutively to Vaughn's Connecticut cases. 

Churchill County Public Defender Jacob Sommer said his client has made some mistakes and knows he needs to make some changes. Sommer asked that the sentence run concurrently with the Connecticut cases. 

Fees and assessments were imposed, and Vaughn received a suspended sentence of 12-32 months in Nevada State Prison. He was also placed on probation for 18 months, and the sentence will run concurrently with his Connecticut cases.

Carlos Alfredo Quevedo-Beltran, in custody, appeared for sentencing on the Category E Felony of Possession or Sale of a Document for Personal Identifying Information to Establish a False Status or Identity.

DDA Priscilla Baker told the court that the defendant took someone else's identity so he could work in the U.S.; he then gave the false ID to law enforcement when pulled over. The second time Quevedo-Beltran did so, the officer recognized him.

CCPD Sommer said this is a mandatory probation offense. Sommer said his client did the things the state highlighted; however, he did not have ill intent; he was trying to survive and take care of his family. 

Fees and assessments were imposed, and Quevedo-Beltran was ordered to pay $4,025 in extradition costs. He received a suspended sentence of 12-40 months in prison and was placed on probation for 18 months. In addition to the standard conditions of probation, the defendant was ordered to comply with all Immigration Hearings and to conduct all business under his legal name.

Wesley Plexico, in custody, appeared for sentencing on the Category D Felony of Battery with the Intent to Commit Robbery, to which he pled guilty in August.

DDA Lane Mills said the defendant in the companion case got 36-120 months. He said this defendant has been incarcerated in Utah for the last couple of years, finally paroled out, and then brought here to address these charges. He has a very concerning criminal history regarding firearms. The State asked for extradition costs. 

CCPD Wright Noel told the court his client went to prison essentially right after this occurred, and he has had a lot of time to think about the consequences of his actions and consider changes he needs to make to ensure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.

While in custody in Churchill County, he has taken advantage of and completed several programs, including a substance abuse course, behavioral therapy, and other programs to gain an understanding of some of the treatments he needs to make changes in his life.

The defense asked for probation and for Plexico to be allowed to return to Utah, where he has more support, or he has been accepted by the Salvation Army Program, which is the defense’s preference. Noel stated Plexico has “in the past has had a commercial driver’s license; he is capable of a lot more than he has shown the court so far … probation is a good option here. I think probation with the Salvation Army Program as a requirement would be the best option both for Mr. Plexico and for justice for this case.” 

Plexico said, “I did take the victim's car; however, my involvement was minimal. It was a situation that spun out of control.” He said he does take responsibility for his actions, and he knows what he did was wrong; he knows he has a methamphetamine addiction problem, and when high, he is paranoid. He concluded his statement, “I need help, Your Honor, which is why I beg the court to give me an opportunity at reform with the Salvation Army Rehabilitation Program.” 

Fees and assessments were imposed; the court did not order extradition costs. Plexico received a sentence of 28-96 months in prison; credit was given for time served. The defendant was remanded to the Churchill County Sheriff's custody for the sentence's imposition.

Joseph Terrell Libbee, in custody, appeared for sentencing on two Category E Felonies of Failure to Stop on the Signal of a Peace Officer and Assault with a Deadly Weapon.

In this case, the plea agreement is pursuant to a Settlement Conference.

DDA Mills told the court that after the defendant bailed on apprehension for bodily harm, “he steals a car and takes the police on a chase.” He crashed a Suburban; the victim could not get an estimate as it is an old vehicle and is now undrivable. She is asking for restitution of $5,700-8,000. Mills said there are public safety issues, a victim who lost her only means of transportation, and a “defendant with kind of a mixed track record with respect to compliance with the law in our society.” Libbee is a veteran, Mills said, “He was a U.S. Army Jump Master, which is, I guess, no small feat.” Mills said there is a methamphetamine abuse issue that goes back to when the defendant was 13. “I think that fact explains probably all of his criminal history.” The defendant said he did not use methamphetamine while he was in the Army. Lane concluded his argument, “We have a victim here who really needs restitution money, but we also have some serious public safety issues to contend with in whether this defendant can be trusted out on probation given how he did after posting bail … he stole a car and took the police on a joy ride.” The state submitted the matter to the court's discretion. 

CCPD Noel began his argument, “The State is correct in that Mr. Libbee is a decorated military veteran” who has won several medals and recognitions, including but not limited to the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; he did tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Noel said his client served our country. Valiantly jumping out of airplanes into combat zones and training other people how to do that; since getting out of the Army, he has had difficulty adjusting. Noel said the evaluation recommendation is inpatient treatment, and the defense has contacted the Veteran's Court, but they have not heard if he has been accepted. They said it was all right to send him, and they will go from there. Noel said that based on his military career and Noel's interactions with him, his client has much potential for good; “He's very sincere and open with his struggle to adjust back to civilian life after being in the military. The choices that he's made during that adjustment are the worst possible, and that is why he's sitting in front of you today looking at the possibility of a prison sentence. But if the court allows him the opportunity to get treatment, either through Veteran’s Court, or through Drug Court or Mental Health Court, I think Mr. Libbee is someone who can be a valuable member of our society.” The defense requested diversion; they did not contest restitution, saying Libbee wanted to make things right. 

Libbee told the court, “I've made a series of mistakes in the last couple of years I’m not very proud of, and I take full responsibility for those mistakes. I don't put my actions on military service or drugs; you know, it was my choice, not good choices, but they're my choices.”  

Fees and assessments were imposed. Libbee received suspended sentences of 24-60 months in prison on the Failure to Stop charge and 28-72 months on the Assault charge; the charges are to run concurrently. The defendant was placed on probation for 36 months. He was ordered to pay a restitution of $5,277 at $155 a month. In addition to the standard conditions of probation, he was ordered to obtain a substance abuse evaluation, follow the recommendations thereof, and enter and complete the Western Regional Drug Court Program.

Kyria Cooper Miears appeared for sentencing on the Category D Felony of Battery by a Probationer, Parolee, or a Prisoner in Lawful Custody, which she pled guilty to in August. Pursuant to the plea negotiation, the state remained silent.

CCPD Noel told the court his client had an argument with the father of her children, and she committed battery on him; she knows she should have reacted differently; she is in drug court in White Pine County and doing very well. The defense asked for probation. 

Miears stated, “I know that I made a mistake. I acted on impulse. But I'm doing good in my program and would like to continue to do that.” 

Fees and assessments were imposed, and Miears received a sentence of 12-38 months in prison. Judge Stockard suspended the sentence, placing Miears on probation for 36 months. She was also ordered to successfully complete her program in White Pine County.

Bryant Bennett Jayne appeared for sentencing on the Gross Misdemeanor charge of Injury to Another’s Property valued at more than $250 but less than $5,000.

This case is the result of a settlement conference. The court had a Pre-Sentence Investigative Report (PSI). 

DDA Mills began his argument, “We’re here today, as you can see from the PSI, on a variety of cases that we have agreed to settle in this matter; we have multiple victims. 

Mills read from a victim impact statement, “It must be exceptionally difficult at this stage in one's life to have to be going through what he's going through as a person. But his acting out has other people that are hurt, too.” Mills spoke of three victims: first was the defendant’s landlord whom Jayne had threatened with physical harm, who is asking $4,000 in restitution; a second victim had been previously victimized and has PTSD, and this didn't help her and she is asking $1,845.50; and the third, a 75-year-old who has Parkinson’s, and was very proud that for 26 years her truck had no dents or scratches, asked for $4,457.46 in restitution. Mills stated, “It’s just no matter what your circumstances in life, you can't take it out on other people. I think, and I hope Mr. Jayne has that message now.” Lane said the defendant has a support network now. Hopefully, he can develop some skills to help him; the State of Nevada has a program to help blind individuals. The state asked for probation. 

Defense Attorney Johnathan Leavitt began by saying he appreciated the State's comments on the defendant's condition [the defendant is blind]. Leavitt said they take issue with the landlord as Jayne had paid a $500 security deposit and $600 rent and was only there for 11 days; he also has no idea what has happened with his personal effects from the home, valued at approximately $1,500. 

Jayne told the court that Blind Connect is what DDA Mills referred to and stated, “The reason I was homeless on the streets, by myself in the parking lot at the time without medical equipment, and in a panic, where I was sliding into vehicles, and I started to hit back, was because Blind Connect denied me because of my criminal background.” He said he is sorry for the damage done to the vehicles and acknowledged he does owe money for them. Jayne said he could not explain it. He was in a panic; his blind cane got caught in the fence and broke, and nobody would help him; “There was people around me that could’ve helped me and all I heard was footsteps walk away.” He added that someone could have intervened before he started running into vehicles when he was asking for somebody to help him. The defendant said he is not feeling sorry for himself. This “is just the matter of fact of how things happened.” He added that he is not sorry for the landlord as she breached the rental agreement from day one, failing to repair things she was supposed to.

Fees and assessments were imposed. Judge Stockard sentenced Jayne to 2,201 days in the Churchill County Jail; he suspended the sentence and placed the defendant on probation for 12 months. Jayne was ordered to pay restitution of $2,900 to the landlord, $1,845.50 to another victim, $4,457.46 to the third victim, and $558.90 to the Churchill County Sheriff’s Office.

As Jayne received instructions for reporting to probation, he stated, “No, I'm not. No, we're not. Not guilty. Not guilty.” He said he will not be on probation as that was not the deal. Stockard stated, “That is the order of the court. We'll be in recess,” and he left the courtroom. The defendant complained a bit more, saying he will go to jail rather than be on probation, and he is “not going to not use cannabis.”

Carl Wayne Sampson’s Sentencing Violation was continued to October 15.