KINGMAN – The lesser involved defendant in the discovery of a suitcase full of cash was placed on probation and ordered to spend 30 days in the Mohave County Jail Friday. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle also directed Chrystal Himmelright, 41, to perform 40 hours of community work service.
The judge and involved attorneys agree that Himmelright was less culpable than her co-defendant boyfriend Jeremiah Peacey. Deputy County Attorney Bob Moon said it was the 40-year-old Peacey who found the suitcase stuffed with $170,000 cash that a woman unwittingly left behind at the Kingman Walmart in the summer of 2017.
Peacey was eventually identified as the alleged thief through review of security and surveillance system video at the store. While Himmelright was not involved in the Walmart discovery, Moon said she committed theft because she used $25,000 of the ill-gotten gain to bail Peacey out of jail.
Moon said Himmelright provided information that helped law enforcement recover about $50,000, but he said the victim is still short close to $90,000 of being made whole. He said he reviewed lots of jailhouse telephone calls between Peacey and Himmleright and that Peacey many times expressed paranoia that others would recover what’s left of the cash, wherever it is.
“There’s money out there hidden or buried for a rainy day fund when this is all over,” Moon said. He said Peacey apparently has a “finder’s-keepers” mentality in refusing to return the loot.
Defense attorney Mike Shin said publicity about the case has others trying to horn in before law enforcement locates the cash. “She has received death threats about telling where the money is,” he said.
Carlisle told Himmelright he appreciated that she heeded his advice to be honest when cooperating with the probation department in preparing a pre-sentence report. He said she may have gone a bit overboard and been too forthright by admitting she had probably used methamphetamine more than 50 times over the last six months.
“That’s a concern to the Court,” Judge Carlisle said. He told Himmelright she must report to begin serving her jail time by no later than Oct. 7.
Peacey remains jailed awaiting trial scheduled in early December.
