Category: Court News

KINGMAN -A judge in Kingman has imposed a 1.5-year prison term for a Fort Mohave man convicted of drug offenses during trial last month. Ezequiel Lopez-Cabrera, 32, received lighter punishment primarily because of a key determination by the jury. The panel chose not to find Lopez-Cabrera guilty of possession of dangerous drugs for sale, opting instead to convict him of the lesser included offense of possession of dangerous drugs. Defense attorney Nathan Best persuaded the jury that Lopez-Cabrera was a heavy user of methamphetamine and possession of 18 grams in one-gram baggies did not necessarily constitute sales activity. Prosecutor Amanda…

Sentence for meth trafficking ‘lenient’ KINGMAN – Mohave County Judge Billy Sipe has imposed 7.5-year prison sentences after reluctantly approving drug case plea agreements that he questioned for its “leniency.” The punishment was stipulated in plea deals convicting two Indiana men of transporting dangerous drugs for sale. Cristian Lopez, 24, was the driver of a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation on Interstate 15 just south of the Utah border in January. Twenty pounds of methamphetamine was confiscated, separately packaged in 20 one-pound bags. “That’s a substantial amount of meth,” Judge Sipe told attorneys, asking them to justify the sentencing…

KINGMAN – A five-year prison stint has been imposed for a Bullhead City man who said he was addicted to drugs when he committed a spree of violence late last year. Trevor Maestre, 28, was sentenced after entering a plea agreement at the Mohave County Courthouse in Kingman Friday, Sept. 13. Maestre pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and a charge that was reduced to attempted arson of an occupied structure. Deputy County Attorney Jim Ferlmann told the court that Maestre visited the home of a friend where his girlfriend was staying overnight at 470 Malibu Drive on Dec. 12, 2018….

KINGMAN – A local judge imposed the maximum punishment possible during a Thursday sentencing hearing for a man convicted of fondling a young girl in a Bullhead City motel room 13 years ago. Judge Billy Sipe ordered a 28-year prison term for Jay Beatte, 44. A trial jury last month found Beatte guilty of one count of child molestation for groping his girlfriend’s daughter who was 10 or 11 years old when they lived together at the motel in 2006. Judge Sipe told Beatte that he rejected his claim of innocence and found credible the victim’s testimony that the sexual…

KINGMAN – A 90-day jail sentence has been ordered for a Bullhead City man who entered a plea agreement to avoid possible prison time for an episode of violence last spring. Tyler Ziilch, 38, was credited for 35 days he has spent in custody so he’ll have to serve 55 days more to complete his jail term. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Rick Lambert placed Ziilch on intensive supervised probation for three years and directed him to perform 200 hours of community work service. Bullhead City police spokeswoman Emily Fromelt said Ziilch and a male victim both brandished knives before…