Fentanyl trafficker seeks treatment program

A Reno woman faces up to two decades in prison after she admitted Tuesday to trafficking in fentanyl

Prosecutors have agreed to cap their sentencing recommendation for Rebecca Dianne Frawley, 36, at eight years.

Frawley was pulled over on Aug. 26 after she was camped in the fast lane of Highway 395 at 57 mph.

During a traffic stop, K-9 Bane alerted on the Mercedes she was driving and deputies found the drugs.

After admitted the charge, Frawley was released on her own recognizance to participate in a treatment program.

“This drug will kill you,” District Judge Tod Young said. “There are several people who sat in that same chair who are dead of this drug.”

Attorney Adam Spicer argued that Frawley has lived at the same residents for three years and is a lifelong Northern Nevadan.

Trafficking in 100-400 grams of fentanyl carries a mandatory minimum two-year sentence and a maximum $100,000 fine.

Frawley is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22.

• An ex-felon who was arrested with a firearm in August 2020 was sentenced to 12-30 months in prison on Monday.

William Benton Hiser, 38, was ordered to serve that time consecutively with a similar charge that he was convicted of in Modesto.

Hiser will get credit for 86 days he served in custody.

Attorney Brian Filter said the California case was pending when Hiser was arrested in Douglas for driving under the influence of drugs and found in possession of three weapons.

As a convicted felon he is not allowed to have firearms.

In addition to his prison sentence, Hiser was ordered to pay $416.24 it cost to retrieve him from California.

Hiser was convicted of two felonies in Arizona in 2004.

• A Reno man faces a mandatory prison sentence after he admitted to a subsequent felony DUI on Tuesday.

Shawn Nicholas Sulli, 34, is free pending a Feb. 1, 2022, sentencing date in Douglas County District Court.

Sulli had a .19 blood alcohol content when he was arrested on May 1 after he was pulled over driving around Indian Hills after an altercation with his girlfriend.

Deputies were responding to a report of the couple arguing near the Jacks Valley Target. According to court documents she told deputies Sulli had been drinking at three separate bars at Lake Tahoe. She was getting out of the vehicle because he’d been drinking.

Prosecutors agreed to recommend a 2-5-year prison sentence in exchange for his guilty plea. He will have to serve 2 years at minimum, but the judge could give him up to 15 years under state law. He must also pay a fine of $2,000-$5,000.

Sulli previously served a prison sentence related to an Aug. 29, 2009, felony DUI arrest.

• A man who set three fires and was caught trying to set a fourth admitted to a count of third-degree arson on Tuesday.

Lee Alan Knapp, 40, faces 1-4 years in prison and a potential $5,000 fine in connection with an Oct. 21 fire near the Chili’s at Topsy Lane.

Knapp walked out of the Walmart with a bottle of lighter fluid and sprayed it on a sleeping bag in the landscaping at the restaurant.

He then went down the street setting other small fires and was trying to set a vehicle on fire at Bodine’s when he was arrested.

According to his attorney the plea agreement will resolve charges out of Carson City.

• A man who tried to avoid a warrant by giving a deputy a false ID is facing 1-5 years in prison.

Andrew David Stiefel, 47, had only been out of prison for about a year when he was arrested the morning of Nov. 11.

Stiefel admitted to a count of using the information of another person to avoid prosecution.

Prosecutors agreed to recommend capping his sentence at four years.

Stiefel was convicted in 2019 of taking a joy ride in a snowplow in Carson City. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb 8, 2022.

• A man who admitted he was burglarizing a vehicle parked along Highway 50 at Lake Tahoe is scheduled to be sentenced on a motor vehicle burglary charge on Feb. 1, 2022.

Nestor Kevin Tavares appeared in Douglas County District Court on Tuesday where he entered a guilty plea.

He was originally arrested Aug. 15, 2020, inside someone else’s Subaru. A warrant was issued for his arrest for failing to appear in court.

Tavares faces 1-4 years, but the prosecution isn’t opposing probation. He will also have to pay $705.20 in extradition costs to bring him back to Douglas.