Punching another inmate results in lengthy prison sentence

A man who committed grand theft auto and punched another inmate while in custody received a sentence of 31-78 months in prison.

Nestor Kevin Tavares, 26, admitted to a count of battery by a prisoner in custody, which jail surveillance cameras appeared to show Tavares acted with no cause or provocation by the victim. 

Tavares had no comment on Feb. 15 when Douglas County District Court Judge Todd Young asked why he hit the other inmate.

Tavares was originally arrested Aug. 15, 2020, inside someone else’s vehicle. After he failed to appear in court a warrant was issued for his arrest which occurred Nov. 11, 2021. 

Tavares received 123 days time served and was ordered to pay a fine of $907.24 in restitution.

• A woman who walked away from treatment after being arrested for grand theft auto and eluding police officers was sentenced to 15-48 months in prison with 122 days credit on Feb. 15. 

Destiny Niels Rich, 28, admitted to a felony count of eluding and was permitted to attend a treatment program, which she walked away from on May 3, 2021. A nationwide no-bail warrant was issued for her arrest in June after she failed to attend her sentencing. 

Rich was arrested on Feb. 17, 2021, after deputies spotted a Ford Explorer in the parking lot of the Grant Walmart that had been reported earlier that morning. When deputies tried to contact Rich, she drove off and was chased south from the parking lot onto Highway 395. She led deputies on a chase with speeds of up to 75 mph, where she drove up onto sidewalks and passed vehicles on the right and went into the oncoming lanes. She was stopped near Leviathan Mine Road where she tried to turn around and a deputy bumped the Explorer off the road. 

• A Pine View Estates man who is facing felonies of assault with a deadly weapon and coercion after a domestic battery that occurred in Nov. 27, 2021, will be released on condition he wear an ankle bracelet.

Jessie Avalos, 28, was arrested after deputies responded to a call to find a woman with a bloody nose and small cut.

She told them that her boyfriend threatened her with a knife during an argument. Deputies called out the Special Weapon and Tactics team. Because there were cameras inside, Avalos apparently slipped out before deputies were able to secure the perimeter. 

He was caught in Dresslerville that night after the woman reported he’d taken refuge in her mother’s home. 

He is ordered to reappear in court March 1.    

• A California man with a history of criminal fraud pleaded guilty in connection with a check-kiting ring that cost the Topaz Lodge a reported $30,000.

George Harlen Beatty, 47, was extradited to Douglas County from California in December where he had a federal wire fraud conviction in 2018 and was responsible for $4,000 in bad checks, according to prosecutor Eric Levin. 

In the state of Nevada check fraud is a felony and punishment constitutes 1-4 years in prison, up to $5,000 fine and restitution fees.

Beatty is to appear in Douglas County District Court April 5 for sentencing. 

• Kevin Louise Cucuk pleaded guilty to a fFelony Feb. 15 for possession of 7.9 grams of methamphetamine and is facing up to 1-4 years in prison or diversion.  

Cucuk was arrested Sept. 21 after the vehicle he was in was stopped for a traffic violation and he was found subject to a bench warrant out of Esmeralda County and was taken into custody.