Category: Court News

BULLHEAD CITY – Mandatory prison terms are specified in proposed plea agreements that will resolve Bullhead City drug dealing cases. Rene Carranza-Sanchez pleaded guilty Tuesday to possession of dangerous drugs for sale in a deal requiring Mohave County Superior Court Judge Rick Lambert to impose a five-year prison term at a sentencing hearing scheduled August 14. The deal dismisses other charges for alleged narcotics and weapons offenses. Prosecutor Morgan Carstensen said the charges result from a warrant-based search conducted on December 7, 2019 at a home in the 1900 block of Sea Breeze Lane. She said officers confiscated about two…

BULLHEAD CITY – Mandatory prison terms are specified in proposed plea agreements that will resolve Bullhead City drug dealing cases. Rene Carranza-Sanchez pleaded guilty Tuesday to possession of dangerous drugs for sale in a deal requiring Mohave County Superior Court Judge Rick Lambert to impose a five-year prison term at a sentencing hearing scheduled August 14. The deal dismisses other charges for alleged narcotics and weapons offenses. Prosecutor Morgan Carstensen said the charges result from a warrant-based search conducted on December 7, 2019 at a home in the 1900 block of Sea Breeze Lane. She said officers confiscated about two…

KINGMAN – The horrific murder of a Kingman woman over a custody dispute involving her grandchildren ended Friday with the sentencing of the victim’s daughter who pleaded guilty to first degree murder. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle imposed a life prison sentence for Carrie Vanover, 24. Co-defendant Mark Baldonado, 32, was previously sent to the Arizona Department of Corrections under an identical plea agreement. Both convicted killers must remain in prison for at least 25 years before possible parole windows open. Various authorities, investigative reports, evidence and admissions paint a consistent picture of why and how Shawn Vanover,…

KINGMAN – A lover’s quarrel at a Kingman motel resulted in the death of one Peach Springs woman and the arrest of another on a second-degree murder charge. Police responded to a report of an unresponsive woman at the Days Inn East just before 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 9. The suspect, Leanne Watahomigie, 34, was performing CPR on her girlfriend Nellita Smith, 38, when officers arrived at room #119 on the property at 3881 E. Andy Devine Avenue. “Nellita was determined to be deceased and she was found to have a contusion to her right eye, as well as…

LAKE HAVASU CITY – Over the past several months, detectives from the Lake Havasu City Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, which is part of the Mohave Area General Narcotics Enforcement Team (MAGNET), have been conducting an investigation into the sale of illegal drugs at a residence in the 2300 block of Alpine Drive in Lake Havasu City. On July 6, at approximately 9:50 a.m. the Lake Havasu City Police Department’s SWAT team, with the assistance of the Special Investigations Unit, served a search warrant at that residence.  During the search, Detectives located a usable amount of methamphetamine and numerous items…