Category: Court News

The first of two defendants charged in a Bullhead City drug case was sentenced to the Arizona Department of Corrections on June 17. Judge Billy Sipe ordered a six year prison term for 36-year-old Ryan Newsom who entered a plea agreement in April. Newsom pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted possession of a narcotic drug for sale. Methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia related charges were dismissed. Authorities said Newsom and co-defendant Desiree Castaneda, 23, lived together in a home in the 2100 block of Swan Place. An August, 2018 search of that residence turned up 19 grams of…

Over the past few months, detectives with 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 possible drug activity at a residence in the 200 block of Saguaro Drive. This investigation was a result of several community-based tips that were reported due to suspicious activity at this residence. On June 19, detectives with the Lake Havasu City Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, contacted three (3) subjects at the residence in the 200 block of Saguaro Drive. Upon contact with the subjects, items…

Her mother told a Kingman judge that the life of a seven year-old Lake Havasu City girl has been shattered by the man who admits molesting her. The woman’s June 17 statement came before Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle imposed the 20 year prison term mandated in the plea agreement convicting David Long, 44, of sexual conduct with a minor. The plea deal dismissed five other charges involving the victim, one of them dating back to early 2016.  The mother spoke of the horror of being in California celebrating her son’s 5th birthday when she learned her daughter…

There was little discussion at a June 14 hearing where a Lake Havasu City woman was given a four year prison term for torching an RV in Desert Hills. The punishment was prescribed in a plea agreement convicting 42-year-old Vanessa Byrd of arson of an occupied structure. The Mohave County sheriff’s office said Byrd was spotted with a five gallon gas can while running from a burning RV in the 3500 block of London Bridge Road in June, 2017. The agency said Byrd had been trespassing on the property before she set the RV on fire. Byrd had been placed…

A woman was jailed early Thursday for allegedly setting multiple brush fires near the downtown Kingman home where she resides with seven other people. Fire Department officials responded to three separate brush fire incidents Tuesday near a residence in the 500 block of Gold Street. Deputy Kingman Police Chief Rusty Cooper said Patricia Craft, 27, told investigators she suspected her brother lit the fires. “Officers investigating the fires learned that other fires had been set, wherein the home was actually damaged by fire before being extinguished,” Cooper said. Cooper said a surveillance operation was conducted and that officers observed Craft…

Over the past month, detectives with the Lake Havasu City Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit have been investigating several vending machine burglaries that occurred between May 4 and May 5, in the 3200 block of Maricopa Avenue. As a result of the burglaries, an undisclosed amount of cash was taken as well as a significant amount of damage caused to the vending machines. During the course of the investigation, Detectives located surveillance video footage that showed the male suspect manipulating the vending machines for several hours. The suspect is described as a white male wearing a dark blue colored shirt, black…