Felon who hid in plain sight sent to prison

A six-time felon who ingratiated herself with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office walked into court expecting to receive a suspended sentence and ended up going to prison for up to three years.

Gardnerville resident Kami Elois Power, 54, admitted to one count of a possession of a firearm by a prohibited person on May 14 after being arrested June 9, 2023.

Power is a 12-year resident of Carson Valley and never registered as an ex-felon as required by state law, which she did after her arrest.

There was a plea agreement where both prosecutors and defense attorney Maria Pence recommended Power receive a suspended 12-30 month prison sentence. Pence said Power scheduled back surgery for Wednesday, indicating she expected to be on probation.

However, on Monday Pence filed a document in support of sentencing that included both social media posts from 2018 that featured Power and her former partner at a variety of events related to Sheriff Dan Coverley’s election campaign.

It also included an endorsement letter from a former friend, who is a civilian employee of the Sheriff’s Office, written three years ago.

That prompted prosecutor Jim Sibley to place both Coverley and the employee on the stand on Tuesday, where both refuted the assertion they knew Power was a convicted felon.

The charge stemmed from a domestic dispute between Power and her former spouse that resulted in Power asking the civilian employee to take charge of two guns for safety’s sake in 2023.

That occurred as Power was being accused of embezzling from an employer in June 2023, which resulted in authorities discovering she hadn’t registered as an ex-felon. The guns were turned over to the Sheriff’s Office and a deputy took Power into custody for their possession shortly afterwards.

While the 2023 case is being litigated in civil court, Power’s prior felonies were directly related to the embezzlement of more than $700,000 from employers in California that ended up sending her to prison around the turn of the century.

Pence argued that Power received a certificate of rehabilitation from California, which she thought meant she didn’t have to register as an ex-felon or could possess firearms.

On Tuesday, Sibley argued that Power was a con artist who’d tricked everyone she knew.

“The defendant’s life has been a life of deception,” Sibley said. “She betrayed those around her as much as she betrayed her victims.”

When Coverley took the stand he said he didn’t know Power was a convicted felon when she marginally participated in his campaign for sheriff.

“She was a good liar,” he said.

Power told the judge it was not her intention to conceal her past.

“I did not try to mislead anyone,” Power said. “I tried to change my life but it’s really hard. I believe in the goodness in this community, All I can do is live my life and be the best person I can be.”

In sentencing her, District Judge Tod Young said he was focused on the charge before him.

“I’m sentencing her because she was an ex-felon who clearly possessed firearms,” he observed, “not because she offended people in the pleading, though people are offended.”

She was remanded to serve 14-36 months in prison and had already been transferred to the Nevada Department of Corrections by Wednesday.