Category: Court News

A judge said that it is a “travesty” that a Mohave Valley man spent 19 months in custody before he was acquitted of the most serious criminal charges at his trial that concluded on Feb. 7. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Rick Lambert said neither he nor the jury found the victim’s accounts and testimony to be credible. Lambert said the methamphetamine addict’s claims that her estranged boyfriend Nathan Strawderman, 43, repeatedly struck her with a baseball bat in Oct., 2017 were unsupported by medical records involving injury or other evidence. The jury convicted Strawderman of the two, least serious, assault-related…

Defense attorney Weston Meeth said alcohol dependency is the “recurring theme” of three criminal cases in three years that send a Fort Mohave woman to the Arizona Department of Corrections. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle imposed an 11-year prison sentence on March 5 for Roxanne Krivak, 36. Krivak was placed on probation for driving drunk in 2015 when her five year-old son was a passenger. Her blood alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit when the truck she was driving struck a fence. Judge Carlisle said Krivak was reinstated on probation for residing where numerous…

Martinez could be sentenced to from one to 10 years A Bullhead City man who has reportedly admitted sexually-motivated touching involving his step-granddaughter entered a plea agreement in Kingman March 6. Pedro Aguayo Martinez, 75, pled guilty to the reduced charge of attempted child molestation. Terms of the plea agreement allow Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle to place Martinez on supervised probation, which could include up to a year in the county jail. Judge Carlisle also has the option of sending Martinez to prison for up to ten years. Bullhead City police spokeswoman Emily Fromelt said an investigation…

A Mohave Valley man who claims the death of his older girlfriend was a mercy killing attended a pre-trial conference in Kingman on March 6. James Paul Manker, 28, is charged with first degree murder in the Jan. 29 shooting death of Tina Stimmell, 56, at their residence at 9903 S. Needles Drive. A probable cause statement indicated that Manker and Stimmell failed when they tried to use natural gas within the home to commit double suicide. He told a detective that he shot Stimmell in the head through a pillow as she slept on a recliner in the living…

A Bullhead City man will spend at least 40 years in prison for his involvement in a double homicide. Sentence was imposed Feb. 27 for Francisco Romero, 26. Romero pled guilty to first degree murder for the shooting death of Daryl Ward, 22, and to kidnapping for the abduction of Mona Carter, 51. Romero must serve at least 25 years in prison before he is eligible for parole for the murder conviction and he must serve 15 years more for the Carter kidnapping. Five co-defendants face a range of charges for their alleged involvement in the same case. Authorities have…