April 17 trial set in dog death

A Gardnerville woman is set for trial April 17 in East Fork Justice Court on charges she abandoned a Great Dane mix on Pinenut Road, ending in the dog's death when he was struck by a car.

Sabrina Lohr was set for a hearing Wednesday in court. Her lawyer, Tod Young, filed a notice of setting for a trial, indicating she was pleading not guilty to three misdemeanor charges.

Lohr, 40, is charged with abandoning an animal, cruelty to animals and dog at large. According to the criminal complaint, Lohr showed up at the Douglas County Animal Shelter with Rocket on Nov. 14, and reportedly said she would dump the dog if the shelter didn't take him. She said she was leaving for two weeks in Spain.

The shelter, which was undergoing renovation at the time, advised Lohr there was no room for the dog, and told her it was against the law to abandon the pet.

According to the complaint, Lohr turned Rocket loose on Pinenut Road where he wandered frightened for 10 days until he was hit by a car and killed the day after Thanksgiving.

Shelter workers tried in vain to win Rocket's trust by leaving food and water.

The maximum penalty is a $1,000 fine and six months in Douglas County Jail on each charge if convicted.

n A Minden taxi driver was ordered to pay $2,500 to a 78-year-old man who claimed he was knocked to the ground and broke an elbow after he complained the taxi was blocking handicapped parking.

Harold Peacock II, 51, pleaded no contest to simple battery.

The victim testified that he and his wife went to Raley's on Dec. 22 and looked for a handicapped parking spot. He said a taxi was blocking spaces and when he went to question the driver, Peacock "slammed open the door and hit me in the chest."

Peacock allegedly pushed him a second time, and he fell, breaking his elbow.

Peacock's lawyer, Cliff Young of Reno, said the account was "highly disputed," but his client wanted the victim's $2,500 medical bill covered.

"Had this been a basketball game, the foul would have been on the victim," Young said.

East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl ordered the money taken from Peacock's $3,000 bail.

Peacock tested positive for marijuana, but claimed he was "a casual smoker."

"Knowing full well you were coming in here today, why would you smoke dope?" EnEarl asked.

"I'm a casual smoker at most," Peacock said. "I didn't anticipate what would happen today."

"So it was OK to smoke dope if you didn't get caught?" EnEarl said.

He suspended a 180-day jail sentence for a year, and ordered Peacock to abstain from drugs and alcohol.

He also must attend counseling for six months.

n East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl sentenced a Gardnerville woman to two months in jail, suspended, for drinking alcohol before attending a victims of drunk drivers panel.

Franki Trejo, 40, was ordered to attend the Carson City meeting because she was convicted of drunk driving.

"These meetings are put on by people who lost loved ones to drunk drivers," EnEarl said. "I told you I couldn't think of anything more insulting than for you to go with alcohol in your system."

Trejo said she had a drink at lunch before a friend dropped her off at the meeting. All participants are tested, and if they have drugs or alcohol in their systems, they are denied entry and a report is filed with the sentencing judge.

Trejo's lawyer, Steve Hess of Reno, said his client had a history of mental health issues.

"She's not operating with the same set of rules as us," he said. "That certainly does not diminish the disrespect for this behavior."

He said Trejo had attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on her own since the incident.

Prosecutor Michael McCormick said he was concerned Trejo was still drinking after her arrest last year with a .212 alcohol content, nearly three times the legal limit for driving in Nevada.

EnEarl sentenced her to 60 days, suspended for one year, and forbid her from drinking.

"Don't do this any more," he said.

n A 21-year-old Gardnerville man tested positive Wednesday for opiates and marijuana while he was awaiting sentencing on misdemeanor drug charges.

Joseph Eugene Gelsinger pleaded no contest to possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

He was arrested in November when deputies looking for a runaway juvenile broke up a party at his then-Topaz Ranch Estates address.

Gelsinger reportedly tried to mask the results of Wednesday's urine test with an over-the-counter kit he told his probation officer he purchased for $26.

"Those little kits they sell you, they don't work," East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl told Gelsinger.

He sentenced Gelsinger to 90 days in jail, suspended for one year, and ordered him to abstain from drugs and alcohol.

Gelsinger said he smoked marijuana while he watched the Super Bowl game on Feb. 3. He said the opiate was from his sister's cough medicine.

EnEarl ordered Gelsinger, who now lives with his mother, to get a job.

"No more cough syrup, no more alcohol," EnEarl said. "You've tested positive for the last time."

n James Gilbert, 43, accused 18 months ago of growing marijuana with a street value of $400,000, is set for a court appearance Feb. 20 on an allegation he used methamphetamine.

Gilbert has been out on bail on the marijuana charge pending negotiations with the district attorney's office whether he had a medical right to the marijuana.

As a term of release, Gilbert was forbidden to use drugs or alcohol.

Gilbert's lawyer, Derrick Lopez, said negotiations were still under way and he hoped for a resolution.

East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl granted Gilbert a 72-hour release so he can undergo a surgical procedure scheduled prior to his Feb. 8 arrest on the methamphetamine allegation.

"Don't smoke any dope when you're out," EnEarl said. "They've got to test you when you come back. You know that."

n Two Carson City women, arrested Feb. 9 with methamphetamine at Hobo Hot Springs, are to appear Feb. 25 in District Court to plead guilty to possession of a controlled substance.

Kimberly Ann Marshall-Miller, 41, and Carol Lynn Lewis, 43, waived their preliminary hearings Wednesday before East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl.

"You guys are middle-aged. What are you doing with methamphetamine?" EnEarl said. "What did you do? Sit down and have coffee some morning and say, 'Hey. You know what we haven't done for a long time?'"

The women were arrested by Douglas County officers assisting a Carson City deputy with an arrest warrant.

Lewis said she relapsed after eight years.

"Are you going through a mid-life crisis?" EnEarl asked.

Lewis said she recently lost her job.

n A former Indian Hills resident was sentenced to a 90-day suspended sentence in Douglas County Jail on an allegation that she failed to protect her 15-year-old daughter from sexual assault.

Tyra Dawn Hicks, 35, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor contributory neglect of a child.

Originally Hicks was charged with two felony accounts of child abuse or neglect stemming from an incident July 26.

She was accused of leaving her two daughters - one an 8-year-old - unsupervised with intoxicated adult men.

One of the men was known by the defendant to have a warrant for his arrest for statutory sexual seduction and had sexual contact with the 15-year-old, according to court documents.

David B. Reddington, 26, was sentenced to five years in Nevada State Prison in October for a third conviction of statutory sexual seduction in connection with the incident.

According to investigators' reports, Hicks knew of Reddington's prior convictions and decided to use the 15-year-old as "bait."

He reportedly told officers Hicks was feigning sleep in bed with her 8-year-old in the room while he was having sex on the floor with the 15-year-old.

The 8-year-old said she was fixing dinner and walked in on her sister at least three times while the older girl was having sex with another man at the apartment.

The second man said he stopped when he learned the girl was 15. He was not charged.

According to reports, the 15-year-old was intoxicated and didn't remember much of what happened.

"What kind of house are you running?" East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl asked Hicks on Wednesday.

Hicks' lawyer Tod Young said she had not had custody of her children for very long and had suffered in her own upbringing.

"She allowed the children to parent," Young said. "She was more interested in being their friend than their mother."

"You're through drinking and using any kind of drugs unless it's prescription," EnEarl said.