Category: Court News

Defense attorney Robin Puchek recently told a local judge that autopsy results are needed before there can be meaningful plea negotiations in a criminal case involving a Mohave Valley shooting death. Puchek represents James Manker, who told authorities that the death of his girlfriend, Tina Marie Stimmell, was a mercy killing. Few details in the case have surfaced through court proceedings or from law enforcement. Most information comes from a probable cause statement featuring Manker’s purported admissions. That statement indicated that Manker, 29, first told dispatch that he killed Stimmell, 56, when he called the sheriff’s office at 9:45 a.m….

Investigation has determined that a jail inmate used a body cavity to smuggle dangerous drugs into the Mohave County Adult Detention Center in Kingman. That’s the primary update from the Mohave County Sheriff’s office regarding the April 16 hospitalization of five jail inmates for treatment of overdoses within the jail. Detectives learned that inmate Jonathan Hutchinson, 24, of Parker, had smuggled contraband into the Detention Facility in his body cavity,” a news release stated. “The investigation revealed that Hutchinson had smuggled into the Detention Facility approximately 30 counterfeit hydrocodone 30 mg pills and an unknown amount of methamphetamine.” Sheriff’s office…

A distraught Bullhead City woman begged for reconsideration when it became clear that a judge was rejecting probation and  sending her to prison during a May 3 sentencing hearing in Kingman. Debra Couch, 53, told Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle she entered a plea agreement resolving two drug cases hoping to avoid prison. “I would have won at trial,” Couch said. “Ms. Couch. You didn’t take it to trial. You pled guilty,” Judge Carlisle responded. Carlisle told Couch that her guilty plea to attempted possession of dangerous drugs for sale discounted her claim that she was merely present in…

A Monday shooting in north Kingman is under investigation by the Mohave County Sheriff’s office. Deputies responded to the 4800 block of Jagerson Lane at approximately 8:00 p.m. “A 27-year-old white male had sustained gunshot wounds during an altercation in a vehicle,” an agency news release stated. “The victim was shot twice and was able to exit the vehicle to get to a nearby residence for assistance.” Chief Deputy Sheriff Dean Mckie said the victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries. Detectives are trying to identify the shooting suspect who is…

A young father from Lake Havasu City faces prosecution following the Saturday death of his daughter who was left unattended in a hot vehicle. Lake Havasu City police responded at about 1:25 p.m. to the report of an unresponsive child in the area of Cadet Lane and McCulloch Boulevard. “Officers learned that 23-year-old Ty Martin had left his infant daughter unattended in his car for approximately 45 minutes to an hour while visiting his friend, 23-year-old Noah Grabowski in the 40 block of Tailstar Lane,” a news release stated. It said CPR efforts were initiated but that the 18-month-old girl never…

Probation lasts 15 minutes as he pays fine A former Kingman area fire chief convicted of conflict of interest by a jury of his peers entered Friday’s sentencing hearing with the threat of jail hanging over his head. Wayne Eder, 55, and his throng of supporters left the Mohave County courthouse jubilant that a local judge imposed the most lenient sentence possible, boosting his hope of returning to the fire service industry to continue his career. Involved attorneys thought Eder would be placed on probation. Prosecutor James Schoppmann and defense attorney Lee Novak also said it would be proper to leave…