Category: Court News

LAKE HAVASU CITY – A Lake Havasu City man was critically injured when shot by a police officer Thursday. The Mohave County Sheriff’s office is conducting an independent review of the 6:15 p.m. incident at a business in the 1700 block of Kiowa Ave. Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said officers spotted Jon Steven Douglas, 29, inside the Hobby Lobby at the Kiowa Ave. shopping Center and knew him to be named in active felony arrest warrants. She said Douglas attempted to flee the scene and struggled with one of the officers who tried to place him in custody. “One…

A Mohave County judge has broad discretion in pondering punishment for a Lake Havasu City man who fled the scene after his vehicle struck and injured a motorcyclist on May 6. Robert Bergman, 36, could simply be placed on probation or he could be ordered to spend up to 7.5 years in prison. Bergman pleaded guilty Thursday to failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving serious physical injury. Bergman must also pay nearly $11,000 in restitution to the Mohave County Victim’s Compensation Fund. Deputy Mohave County attorney Leah Nelson said Bergman was driving his pickup truck northbound…

LAKE HAVASU CITY – A Lake Havasu City man made an initial court appearance last month for sex offense charges associated with a child pornography investigation initiated in January, 2019. An internet task force alerted Lake Havasu police to illegal image downloading activity at a Bombay Ave. home inhabited by Joshua Waelchli, 26. Computer, laptop, gaming console, tablet, Ipad, cell phone and other electronic devices were seized at the residence for forensic examination. A police report indicates Waelchli first told police he was accidentally clicked his way to child porn on the internet before he made admissions including that he…

LAKE HAVASU CITY – A Lake Havasu City man made an initial court appearance last month for sex offense charges associated with a child pornography investigation initiated in January, 2019. An internet task force alerted Lake Havasu police to illegal image downloading activity at a Bombay Ave. home inhabited by Joshua Waelchli, 26. Computer, laptop, gaming console, tablet, Ipad, cell phone and other electronic devices were seized at the residence for forensic examination. A police report indicates Waelchli first told police he was accidentally clicked his way to child porn on the internet before he made admissions including that he…

KINGMAN – A Kingman woman asked for leniency as she faced a 5-15-year prison term at her Tuesday sentencing hearing. “I’d like to apologize for my actions,” Lisa Walls, 50, told Judge Doug Camacho. Deputy Mohave County attorney Morgan Carstensen urged the judge to impose maximum punishment because the defendant sold quarter-pound increments of methamphetamine to a confidential informant on multiple occasions. “Ms. Walls is not someone who sells merely to support her habit. She’s doing this specifically for pecuniary gain,” Carstensen said. “Ms. Walls was a significant player in the drug sales community in Kingman.” Walls was convicted of…

KINGMAN – Another defendant snagged in an investigation where a male detective posed as a 13-year-old girl is going to the Arizona Department of Corrections for sex offense convictions. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Rick Lambert imposed a 15-year prison term Monday for Shane McHone, 30, Kingman. Judge Lambert also sentenced McHone to lifetime probation once his prison sentence is completed, agreeing with prosecutor Karolina Czaplinska who said the convict should be monitored to make certain he doesn’t target minors again. The Mohave County Sheriff’s office operation used a detective whose social media posts drew responses from men whom he…