Category: Court News

KINGMAN – A Meadview man who killed his neighbor and tried to burn down his domicile has been sentenced to the Arizona Department of Corrections. Judge Billy Sipe ordered a 20.5-year prison term for Victor Empie, 66, during a June 19 hearing in Kingman. Empie was convicted of second degree murder and arson of an occupied structure in a plea agreement. Doctors determined he was suffering from an assortment of mental health afflictions when he killed John Payne, 66. Authorities said Empie used his vehicle to knock Payne’s trailer from its jacks before shooting the victim in the chest when…

KINGMAN – Keeping true to our mission statement, Mohave County Superior Court is once again using technology to provide innovative solutions to our Court System. The Mohave County Clerk of Superior Court has announced the very successful jury selection process this week with some jurors participating by Zoom. This makes the Mohave Model one of the first, if not the very first Court in the nation to accomplish this goal. Twenty-five jurors appeared in person and ten chose to appear using Zoom technology. Those appearing in person reported to the old DES Building for check-in which allowed for adequate social…

KINGMAN – A Mohave County Attorney’s Office review confirms a Kingman police department conclusion that an ex-con fatally shot himself in the head just before he suffered a gunshot to the elbow from a round fired by Mohave County Sheriff’s deputy Kevin Gunnoe. County attorney Matt Smith reviewed the independent shooting investigation and the medical examiner report involving the May 13 death of Buddy Dale Lott, 50. “Lott died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his left temple. The autopsy showed that the fatal shot came from a contact wound to the left temple,” Smith said in a memo issued…

KINGMAN – A Mohave County Attorney’s Office review confirms a Kingman police department conclusion that an ex-con fatally shot himself in the head just before he suffered a gunshot to the elbow from a round fired by Mohave County Sheriff’s deputy Kevin Gunnoe. County attorney Matt Smith reviewed the independent shooting investigation and the medical examiner report involving the May 13 death of Buddy Dale Lott, 50. “Lott died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his left temple. The autopsy showed that the fatal shot came from a contact wound to the left temple,” Smith said in a memo issued…

KINGMAN – The driver of a moving vehicle from which pounds of methamphetamine were tossed onto Interstate 40 during a police chase recently entered a plea agreement. Guadalupe Astorga, 44, Tulare, California is being convicted of transportation of dangerous drugs for sale. Terms of the deal require Mohave County Superior Court Judge Doug Camacho to order a five-year prison term when Astorga is sentenced on July 20. Authorities allege Astorga kept driving when a Mohave County Sheriff’s deputy tried to conduct a traffic stop for a suspected lane change violation about two miles east of Kingman. Co-defendant Pedro Aguirre, 38,…