Category: Court News

LAKE HAVASU CITY – A Lake Havasu City man is spared a trip to prison through compassion expressed by his family-member victims. Wesley Urso, 48, appeared for sentencing Thursday, April 4 before Judge Doug Camacho. Urso pleaded guilty last month to aggravated assault and disorderly conduct for threatening his mother and brother with a shotgun during a Jan. 8 hostile encounter at a home in the 3300 block of El Dorado Avenue. “I just want to apologize to the court,” Urso told Camacho. “I’m ashamed of myself with my chemical dependency. It’s going to take some time for my family…

MOHAVE VALLEY – The suspect in a Mohave Valley homicide has been identified and reward money is offered for information leading to his arrest. The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) said authorities are looking for Michael Edward Kelso, 31, Bullhead City, in connection with the March 29 death of Matthew Brant Cemper. Agency spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said Cemper, 33, Mohave Valley, was dead at the scene after deputies responded to a property in the 10000 block of S. Tropics Rd. Information regarding the manner in which Cemper was killed is withheld so as not to compromise the ongoing investigation. “We…

KINGMAN – Alcoholism was cited as a partial explanation but not an excuse during an April 1 sentencing hearing for a man who committed a sex offense at a Kingman bar in the 4400 block of Stockton Hill Rd. Pedro Madril, 47, previously pleaded guilty to sexual abuse for using his hand to assault a woman last Sept. Madril, San Tan Valley, has some involvement in the law enforcement field, though his career was not specifically detailed in court. “All my life I’ve been a very good person,” Madril told Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle. “My deepest apologies…

MOHAVE VALLEY – The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) is conducting a homicide investigation in Mohave Valley. Agency personnel responded at 11:55 p.m. on Friday, March 29 to a property in the 10000 block of S. Tropics Rd. MCSO spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said deputies determined that a victim identified as Matthew Cemper, 33, Mohave Valley, was dead at the scene. Detectives responded to begin the murder investigation. Mortensen said the suspected manner of death is withheld so the investigation is not compromised. Cemper’s body was conveyed by the Medical Examiner’s Office. Anyone with information about Cemper’s death is urged to…

KINGMAN – Jury trial acquittals last month for attempted murder and aggravated assault were beneficial, but a disorderly conduct with a weapon conviction brings extended incarceration for a Lake Havasu City man. Jason Fontes, 45, appeared for sentencing in Kingman Monday. “I would like to express that I am definitely grateful that no one was injured,” Fontes said of the violent Oct., 2022 episode involving a woman at her home in the 1100 block of Catalina Dr. Police reports indicated Fontes held a gun to the woman’s head after a verbal argument escalated and that she ducked out of harm’s…

LAKE HAVASU CITY – Lake Havasu City police report the seizure of almost a half-pound of methamphetamine, along with the arrests of two adults. Sergeant Kyle Ridgway said the drug bust is the result of an investigation of subjects selling large quantities of meth throughout the city.Ridgway said the drugs were confiscated during a March 27 warrant-based search of a home in the 2200 block of Interlake Dr.Alberto Vazquez, 42, and Tiffany Ayala, 40, were arrested for possession of dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia. He said they also face prosecution for child abuse because the drugs and paraphernalia were within…