A man who claimed he threatened bar patrons with a paintball gun finally admitted Wednesday after sentencing that the weapon was a shotgun.
David L. Sanchez, 36, made the admission under questioning from East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl.
Officers never found a weapon, but located a shotgun shell in Sanchez's vehicle when he was stopped Jan. 14, 2007, after frightened bar patrons called the sheriff's office.
Sanchez was sentenced to 90 days in Douglas County Jail for assault.
EnEarl sentenced Sanchez to 180 days for a second conviction of driving under the influence and suspended 178 days for one year.
Sanchez claimed he got in a fight at the All-Star Bar and came back with what he said was his roommate's paintball rifle.
He admitted threatening the patrons and told EnEarl he left the bar and threw the weapon out of his car.
Witnesses claimed he pointed a brown single-barrel shotgun at them and racked the slide.
Prosecutor Tom Gregory said since no gun was found, there was "a proof issue."
"Was it assault? Absolutely," Gregory said. "Everybody at that bar was frightened."
EnEarl told Sanchez he would wait until after sentencing to ask, but he wanted the truth about the weapon.
"Yes, it was a shotgun," Sanchez said.
"Did you really think I bought into that paintball scam?" EnEarl asked.
Sanchez also tested positive for marijuana after he told EnEarl he would not.
"Why would you lie to me?" EnEarl asked.
"There's a lot of stuff going through my mind," Sanchez said.
"What I think is that the first thought that comes to your mind is to lie," EnEarl said.
EnEarl placed Sanchez on house arrest so the Carson City painting company owner could continue to work to support his five children.
He is subject to random search and seizure and must abstain from drugs and alcohol.
"You were drunk and you had a shotgun. If you violate one bump of that agreement you are going to do the whole thing on the inside," EnEarl said.
-- A 61-year-old Gardnerville man who said he won't go back to California where he faces three charges of driving under the influence, was sentenced Wednesday to six months in Douglas County Jail for a similar offense.
Charles Rumrill was arrested Jan. 26 after he left the Douglas County shooting range where someone complained that he had been firing weapons and was driving drunk.
When he was stopped on Pinenut Road east of Highway 395, deputies found two loaded weapons in his vehicle. Rumrill's blood-alcohol content was .18, more than twice the legal limit of .08 for driving in Nevada.
Judge Jim EnEarl suggested that sentencing be postponed until Rumrill cleared up three failures to appear in California, but the defendant said he wasn't going back.
"I'm not going back to California until my mother dies," he said. "I got those three DUIs in Los Angeles and they would put me in county (jail) for quite a while. I can't go back to LA. I'll take what you give me."
"Rather than go back to get your life turned around, you're saying, 'To hell with California.' You'll take your lumps," EnEarl said.
After Rumrill was sentenced, he tried to renegotiate.
"It's too late," EnEarl said.
-- A 19-year-old Dayton man was charged with grand larceny for allegedly wheeling a $698 computer out of Wal-Mart without paying for it.
Raymond Mann is to appear in East Fork Justice Court on Wednesday.
He told acting Judge Paul Gilbert he had no money and "house-hopped," sleeping on friends' couches.
Gilbert appointed lawyer Tod Young to represent Mann who was being held in Douglas County Jail on $25,000 bail.
He was arrested March 12.
-- Michael Howard Menke, Jr., 25, of Carson City, was arrested March 12 in Indian Hills when deputies observed him fish a handgun from a trash bin.
Menke was charged as an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a credit card without a cardholder's permission.
Deputies were in the area Monday searching for a suspect in connection with an assault on a Washoe Tribal Police officer when they saw Menke remove something from the trash bin, conceal it under his clothing, and take it in a friend's apartment.
The tenant gave deputies permission to search her apartment and deputies found the handgun under a mattress. Officers also found a stolen credit card in Menke's wallet.
He said he found it several days ago and was trying to return it to the owner. The card was reported stolen Dec. 31, 2006.
Menke was convicted in 2003 of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.
