Category: Court News

A second defendant has been sentenced for his involvement in the abduction-murders of two Bullhead City residents in a remote desert area of Fort Mohave. The 24-year prison term imposed during Thursday’s sentencing hearing for 29-year old Jose Vizcara was the harshest punishment possible under terms of a plea agreement convicting him of two counts of kidnapping. Authorities have said that Mona Carter, 51, and Daryl Ward, 22 were both abducted and herded into a bedroom of a Bullhead City home in January, 2018. Both were interrogated; Ward for his suspected involvement in theft of drugs and Carter for her…

A former Desert Hills resident who sold significant quantities of drugs in the Lake Havasu City area and beyond was convicted in absentia at his jury trial in Kingman. A Mohave County Superior Court jury deliberated for less than 15 minutes May 16 before finding David Allen Muehlhausen, 59, guilty of all seven felony offenses.   Prosecutor Kellen Marlow told the jury that Muehlhausen sold drugs to a confidential informant who was working for law enforcement. Defense attorney Sandra Carr countered that the informant was not a credible witness and should not be believed because he was making controlled buys to…

A former Bullhead City resident was placed on probation Monday, 17 days after a co-defendant was sent to prison in the same drug case. Edward Darling, 61, and Debra Couch, 53, were both arrested when authorities seized 5.5 grams of methamphetamine from the bedroom of Darling’s former residence in Bullhead City in September 2017. Couch’s defense was that she was just a “middle-man” and that it was Darling who was most involved in drug dealing. Couch pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of attempted possession of dangerous drugs for sale. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle sent Couch to prison…

A three-week Mohave County jail term was ordered Thursday, May 16, for a Lake Havasu City woman who was arrested on drug charges early this year. Adreanna Gaston, 22, is one of four people taken into custody following a January 26 search of a residence at 2785 Barbara Drive in Lake Havasu.  Prosecutor Amanda Claerhout said officers first responded to a domestic dispute at the home. She said arriving officers detected an odor of marijuana which enabled them to secure a warrant to search the property. Claerhout said the search of the home and its occupants netted the seizure of…