Category: Court News

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…

KINGMAN – A Bullhead City man already serving prison time drew five years more at his Sept. 10 sentencing hearing in Kingman. Charles Bristow, 30, was sentenced to terms specified in a plea agreement approved by Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle. Bristow was sent to prison in December, 2017 and was to be released in July, 2021 for five local burglary convictions. He was serving his time at the privately operated state prison in Golden Valley when he was caught with drugs on July 23, 2018. Deputy county attorney Greg McPhillips said Bristow possessed a large bindle of…

KINGMAN – A local judge approved a plea agreement that he said was “entirely inappropriate” during a Tuesday sentencing hearing at the Mohave County courthouse in Kingman. Judge Billy Sipe said he only did so because attorneys provided him confidential information during a private meeting in his chambers before the hearing. Neither Public Defender Jon Gillenwater, nor deputy county attorney Reid Weisberg would comment when asked if the judge was approving the deal because Jose Flores Del Angel, 37, was working with law enforcement authorities on drug matters. Judge Sipe said he disliked the charge reduction and the four-year prison…

KINGMAN – A Mohave County jury has convicted a man of hauling drugs through Mohave County. The panel deliberated about 3.5 hours Wednesday before finding Yefry Harrison Arias-Saldana, 35, guilty of transportation of dangerous drugs for sale and transportation of narcotic drugs for sale. The defendant from Chicago, Illinois was acquitted of a drug paraphernalia possession count. Attorneys presented opening statements in the trial in Kingman Tuesday afternoon. Arias-Saldana did not return Wednesday and a warrant for his arrest was issued after the verdicts were read at the courthouse. Authorities said almost 12 pounds of methamphetamine and about 2.5 pounds…