Man admits transporting methamphetamine

A man faces up to 20 years in prison after he admitted to transporting 6.38 ounces of methamphetamine. 

Christopher George Zahradnik, 37, will have been in custody for nearly a year when he is sentenced on May 10.

Zahradnik admitted charges of trafficking, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a dangerous drug without a prescription on March 22. 

He has been in custody since his May 20, 2021, arrest after K9 Riko sniffed out the methamphetamine.

• A 27-year-old Lake Tahoe man is facing up to 40 years in prison and $120,000 in fines after he admitted to several felony drug counts.

Keenon Albert Tavares admitted Monday to two counts of high-level possession of a controlled substance and two counts of sales of a controlled substance.

Tavares allegedly sold 30.1 grams of cocaine on April 22, 2021, and 30.6 grams of MDMA on April 28, 2021. The two high-level possession charges were for possession of 10.3 ounces of cocaine.

Tavares will have to pay back $124,750 in buy money.

His sentencing was set for June 20 at the request of defense attorney Richard Davies, who said Tavares is undergoing counseling and hopes to have the full restitution.

• A Gardnerville Ranchos man denied knocking down his 89-year-old grandfather, though he acknowledged on Monday it was likely a jury would convict him.

Michael Philip Hall, 40, entered a no-contest plea to one count of elder abuse with substantial bodily harm. 

Hall agreed that if he went to trial, the evidence against him could result in a conviction.

The charge carries a sentence of 2-20 years in prison. Under an agreement, prosecutors agreed to recommend Hall receive diversion.

According to prosecutors, Hall appeared to be intoxicated when deputies arrived at a Gardnerville Ranchos home around 11 a.m. July 19, 2021.

Hall, his 66-year-old father and his grandfather were in the house. 

Prosecutor Patrick Ferguson said that if the case went to trial, he would attempt to prove to a jury that the 89-year-old armed himself with a poker when Hall advanced on him.

He hit Hall in the stomach, and the younger man allegedly knocked his grandfather down, which resulted in a broken hip.

A hearing on whether to defer Hall’s sentence was set for May 9. 

• A 37-year-old Gardnerville woman admitted one count of possession of methamphetamine for sale.

Tarrah Nicole Kizer faces up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine at her May 9 sentencing. She is free on $10,000 bail.

• A 49-year-old ex-felon faces 1-5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine after he was arrested New Year’s Eve in Minden.

Allen Stacy Standley was on parole for armed robbery when he led deputies on a brief foot chase just before midnight.

As they were pursuing him, the deputy heard something tossed onto a pool cover that turned out to be a Smith and Wesson 9 mm handgun.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors won’t seek a habitual criminal status and Standley will forfeit the weapon. 

He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9.

• A 42-year-old man was told by District Judge Tom Gregory it was time for him to stop getting arrested for having drugs. Robert Blaik Jorgenson received a suspended 12-30-month sentence for possession of a controlled substance.

“You’re 42 years old,” Gregory said. “It’s time for you to be done with these shenanigans.”

He received credit for 77 days he served in jail.

• A woman who kicked a deputy admitted to a gross misdemeanor count of battery on a peace officer.

April Renee Howe, 37, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 11 where she faces up to 364 days in jail.