Minden man gets prison for drunken break-ins

A 33-year-old Minden man was sentenced Tuesday to four years in Nevada State Prison after he got drunk and tried to break into residences of his ex-wife and another woman he wanted to date.

Michael Keith Dawson pleaded guilty to attempted burglary which his lawyer said was fueled by alcohol.

"This is a man who has a serious alcohol addiction," said lawyer Tod Young. "The fear he induced is inexcusable, but it was done at a time when he was grossly intoxicated."

That prompted Judge Dave Gamble to ask whether Dawson should receive a harsher or more lenient punishment.

"What do you do with somebody who's already been to prison for alcohol then continues to terrorize people using alcohol and won't get help?" Gamble asked.

Young said in both instances, Dawson was trying to get the victims to like him.

"That's the absurdity. He's trying to get positive attention," Young said.

Dawson apologized to the victims who did not attend the sentencing.

"I never tried to make an excuse about drinking," he said. "I am very, very sorry. I had sobriety in the past. It's not that I get drunk and want to commit these acts, but I have hurt a lot of people because of drinking."

Gamble said it shouldn't be a mystery to Dawson what happens when he drinks.

"There should be some kind of thought process before you take that first drink that, 'Hmmm... when I did this a year ago, I went to jail. When I did this three years ago, I went to prison,'" Gamble said.

Gamble said Dawson had to serve 14 months before he would be eligible for parole.

"If you don't get help, the next time you are in front of me, you'll be spending the bulk of your life in prison," Gamble said.

In September, Dawson broke into his ex-wife's house and stole $10 in quarters and drank two bottles of wine. He was arrested on Christmas Day after he tried to break into the home of a Johnson Lane woman he wanted to date. He was intoxicated in both instances.

-- A 47-year-old Gardnerville man who claimed he was an addict and not a drug salesman was sentenced Monday to three years' probation which includes six more months in Douglas County Jail.

"You're very fortunate the District Attorney's Office made you the offer it did," District Judge Michael Gibbons told James Goldberg. "You could be facing 10 years to life in prison."

Goldberg pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. He was arrested in September with Fern Capra in connection with the sale of 30 grams of methamphetamine to officers in the sheriff's Street Enforcement Team.

His lawyer, John Routsis, said his client had been an intravenous drug user for five years, but "he's not a provider of narcotics."

Goldberg claimed he drove Capra to the drug deal to protect her and because he would be able to tell if she was being paid in counterfeit money.

Goldberg said since his arrest, he's never felt better and asked the judge to keep him out of prison.

"I do 1,000 pushups a day," Goldberg said. "I am a self-made man and I got knocked down. I have got a lot to offer people in this community. Being incarcerated won't do me any good."

Gibbons sentenced Goldberg to three years in prison with a minimum parole eligibility of 12 months, which the judge suspended.

He ordered Goldberg to successfully complete drug court and substance abuse treatment. He must stay away from the co-defendant and maintain full-time employment.

He also ordered Goldberg to pay $4,000 in lieu of forfeiture of the vehicle he was driving when he was arrested.

-- A 60-year-old Topaz Ranch Estates man accused of holding off deputies at his home Jan. 3 with a shotgun and a pistol asked for another week to decide whether to accept an offer from the District Attorney's Office.

Lawyer Tod Young asked for a continuance Monday on behalf of Harry Sprouse.

"He said he wasn't in his right mind when we discussed the plea agreement and I don't know if he's in his right mind now," Young said.

"He tells me he just can't comprehend it and I can't have him sign it."

Young asked for time so "Mr. Sprouse could relax, and come into my office and look at the offer."

Under the agreement, Sprouse would plead guilty to resisting a public officer with a dangerous weapon.

"I wasn't trying to hurt anybody. I was trying to hurt myself," Sprouse told District Judge Michael Gibbons.

Young said Sprouse was hoping to be admitted to a Veterans Administration program for a psychological evaluation.

He said his client also became upset when he was served last weekend with a restraining order to stay away from a former colleague at the Yerington Post Office.

"He got aggressive and indicated he might not follow the order. There was no threat toward the deputy. He voiced being upset toward the temporary protection order," said prosecutor Tom Gregory.

Sprouse said the Post Office was threatening to fire him.

"They have some kind of rule if you get in any trouble, they don't want anything to do with you," Sprouse said.

Gibbons continued the arraignment to Feb. 26 and said he would change the date if Sprouse were in treatment.

He placed the suspect under house arrest, but Sprouse said he wasn't going anywhere and that he had no firearms or other weapons in his house, vehicle or on his property.

-- A 26-year-old Stateline resident was sentenced to drug court for the second time Tuesday after District Judge Dave Gamble urged her to quit working as a bartender at the club where she sold cocaine to an undercover informant.

"I'm telling you that it's not wise for you to be in that industry," Gamble told Stephanie Jacobs. "It's not wise to be on the line in a place where people's main intention is to be intoxicated."

Jacobs said she was off-duty when the transaction occurred May 25, 2006.

She also told the judge that she'd stopped drinking at the bar and drug sales were no longer originating in the kitchen at Fox & Hound Bar and Grill at Kingsbury since the incident.

"Now that this has happened, we've cracked down a bunch," Jacobs said. "It's just our customers who are using it."

Her lawyer, Derrick Lopez, said his client hoped for a career in the restaurant industry and didn't want to lose her job.

He said Jacobs' first arrest was precipitated by family members in an attempt to stop her methamphetamine use.

"Nobody was really victimized and she did really well in drug court," he said.

He said she began using cocaine under the influence of a co-worker. Her colleague offered Jacobs a line of cocaine if she would conclude the transaction because the co-defendant was too busy at the bar to carry out the deal.

Gamble agreed to defer the sentencing until Jacobs completes drug court with the possibility of the charge being dismissed.

"If you fail drug court, there is every likelihood I will give you a year in jail," Gamble said.

Jacobs pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. Originally she was charged with trafficking, sales and conspiracy to violate the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.