Man admits trying to bribe deputy

A man who tried to bribe a deputy with $1,000 in an attempt to escape prosecution for domestic battery faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Ryan Alexander Manuella, 28, admitted Tuesday to a count of trying to bribe a public officer when he was arrested April 22, 2020.

He was originally facing charges of domestic battery with strangulation in connection with the incident at Lake Tahoe.

Released on bail, he was the subject of a nationwide bulletin issued by the Sheriff’s Office on June 9, 2020.

Not quite a year to the date of his arrest at Stateline, Manuella allegedly grabbed a woman’s groin during a flight to Newark, according to a federal complaint filed in New Jersey.

According to the complaint, Manuella was wandering around the cabin and got into another passenger’s seat and rummaged through his bag.

After being told to move, he sat next to the woman and started touching her on April 16, 2021. She hopped up and told him to leave her alone.

He was brought back to Douglas County on May 14, with a hold from a U.S. Marshal’s Office in New Jersey.

• A man who smuggled 70 grams of methamphetamine into the jail in his posterior received a suspended 4-10 year prison sentence on Tuesday.

Christopher Michael Murray, 27, must spend 60 days in jail and attend Western Nevada Regional Drug Court as part of his probation.

District Judge Tod Young acknowledged he might regret giving Murray probation, but he said that it was clear to him that Murray was an addict and that he committed the crime “out of an addict’s desperation.”

Attorney John Malone said Murray’s parents introduced him to drugs when he was 12 years old after they’d been released from prison.

He said Murray would procure drugs for the couple, who are now suffering serious health consequences as a result of their addiction.

Murray was convicted of three felonies in 2015 when he was 18 and he said he served nearly seven years in prison.

Prosecutor A.J. Hames argued Murray should go to prison, pointing out that he’d already admitted to an earlier felony when he was found with the methamphetamine.

• A former sports book ticket writer who admitted to participating in a betting scam was ordered to help pay back $95,454.55 in restitution.

Lydia Cay Ponder appeared virtually in Douglas County District Court on Monday where she received a suspended 364-day jail sentence on condition she serve 30 days in jail.

Both prosecutor Matt Johnson and District Judge Tom Gregory agreed that Ponder was the least culpable of the three defendants involved in the theft.

Ponder and manager Ashley Dean would place bets for Richard Fuentes Jr. from their bank. If Fuentes won, he would pay off the bank and tip Dean. If he lost, he was supposed to pay the debt.

The bets started small but got bigger. On Monday, Johnson said that Ponder and Dean were involved in a Nov. 1, 2018, $50,000 bet on the 49ers. Fuentes won around $95,000 on the bet, which Johnson said text messages from Dean indicated were split between the three of them.

Dean was ordered to serve 19-48 months in prison for her part. Fuentes received a suspended 19-48-month prison sentence and is still paying his portion of the restitution of $234,435.

Gaming Control agents said Fuentes made 74 wagers amounting to more than $1 million on his player card. He eventually bet more than he could cover and the scheme collapsed.

Ponder will be allowed to serve her 30 days at a Nevada jail closer to her Phoenix home.

• A 42-year-old Lake Tahoe man admitted to a count of sales of a controlled substance.

Shawn Allen German faces 1-6 years and an up to $20,000 fine.

He is eligible for probation. According to court records, German sold 3.4 grams of heroin on Aug. 1, 2018, and 3.7 grams of methamphetamine on Aug. 8.

His sentencing is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 27.