Teresa Moon
The Tenth Judicial District Court convened Tuesday, Sept. 29, with Judge Thomas Stockard presiding.
Dean Patrick McGee failed to appear for a status hearing after Court Services reported he tested positive for alcohol and fled the building when told he would be taken into custody. According to Court Services, it was McGee’s fourth violation. Judge Stockard issued a $40,000 bench warrant.
McGee pleaded not guilty Sept. 15 to Driving Under the Influence of an Intoxicating Liquor or a Controlled or Prohibited Substance with a Prior Conviction for Driving Under the Influence, a Category B felony punishable by 2–15 years in prison and a fine of $2,000–$5,000. The offense carries a mandatory prison sentence. Stockard set trial for Oct. 7–9.
Later in the court session, McGee appeared in custody with his attorney, Charles Woodman, appearing via Zoom. Woodman said McGee disputed the positive test, claiming he recently underwent surgery and was still swabbing the surgical site with alcohol.
Court Services representative Wendy Bullock said the test detects alcohol for up to 80 hours and the result was a solid positive.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Lane Mills said McGee violated the court’s order by testing positive and fleeing, noting he “lasted less than a weekend” before violating.
McGee maintained he had not consumed alcohol. When Stockard asked why he left Court Services, McGee replied, “I panicked because she said I tested positive. I have not been drinking. I have not.”
Stockard found McGee violated the conditions of his release, revoked his release on his own recognizance, and remanded him to jail.
Savannah Kay Sarabia pleaded guilty to the Category E Felony of Possession of a Controlled Substance (cocaine), punishable by 1–4 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Judge Stockard provisionally placed Sarabia in the Western Nevada Regional Drug Court program, ordered a Pre-Sentence Investigation, and set sentencing for Dec. 1.
Clayton Shelby Reynolds appeared for a status hearing after Court Services reported two violations for testing positive for methamphetamine.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Priscilla Baker asked that Reynolds be remanded into custody.
Senior Deputy Public Defender Jeffrey Weed said Reynolds has continued to show up for testing even when he knew he would test positive. Judge Stockard commented on Reynolds’s “lack of ownership of his actions.”
“We are seeing the very real struggles out in open court, in front of everyone here, of an addict,” Weed said. He said Reynolds was taking small steps and had a meeting scheduled later that day in Silver Springs. The defense asked that Reynolds remain out of custody.
Baker said Reynolds had been given chance after chance and repeatedly failed to follow the court’s orders.
Reynolds said it had been four days since he used methamphetamine. Stockard noted Reynolds tested positive the previous day, revoked his release on his own recognizance, and remanded him to jail until his sentencing on Oct. 13.
Aubrie Elizabeth Steelmon appeared for a status hearing after Court Services reported two positive tests, four failures to appear for testing, and two negative tests.
Steelmon pleaded guilty Sept. 8 to Burglary of a Building, a Category D felony, and misdemeanor Harassment, punishable by up to 180 days in jail.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Sanford noted, “Court Services is a court order; it's not a suggestion.”
Churchill County Public Defender Jacob Sommer acknowledged that his client has several issues, but that does not excuse her failure to follow court orders. He said she needs Specialty Court to “ensure that she can have structure, and counseling, and stability” so that she can get her life in order. He added that Steelmon has three appointments a week with her counselor and has secured employment.
“I'm empathetic to a point; I'm also frustrated,” Stockard said. He told Steelmon he expects her to appear for testing, provisionally placed her in Specialty Court and set sentencing for Nov. 10.
Barry Gene Eslick, in custody, pleaded guilty to the wobbler charge of Attempt to Commit Grand Larceny of Personal Goods or Property with a Value of $2,500 to $5,000. A wobbler may be sentenced as either a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, or as a Category D felony, punishable by 1–4 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Stockard ordered a Pre-Sentence Investigation and set sentencing for Dec. 1.
Justin Alvin Matheus appeared for sentencing on two counts of Category C Felony Battery that Constitutes Domestic Violence by Strangulation, to which Matheus pleaded guilty on March 24.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Sanford asked the court for a 12–60 month prison sentence. “I understand the defendant is not a person who can be defined by one night,” she said. Sanford noted the state was focusing on two incidents, stating, “What happened should not be permitted. Should not be tolerated.”
Sanford explained that the first incident followed a Valentine’s dinner and an argument. “He straddles her, and put his hands around her throat;... she could not breathe, she could not scream.” Four days later, Sanford said, a second incident occurred. “He strangled her again, causing her to lose her breath, and to fear for her life.”
Sanford read from the victim’s statement: “Feeling normal things day to day is so much harder now. Every day I think about how the person I love, who was supposed to love me, could do this to me.” She also read the final line: “It hurts all the time though too think about what I had to got through and that I’m lucky to be here and to have lived another day.”
“The State agrees with her; she’s lucky to be here,” Sanford said.
Alternate Public Defender Wright Noel said Matheus has taken responsibility, completed the Salvation Army treatment program, has a limited criminal history, and a long history with alcohol. He asked for the minimum sentence on each count, to run concurrently.
Matheus told the court, “I do know what I did is wrong. I have been suffering from alcoholism for a long time... I'm clean now seven months... I'm not a violent person, I'm just an alcoholic.”
Stockard sentenced Matheus to 12–60 months in Nevada State Prison on each count, to run concurrently. “I hope you continue on the path you've been on,” Stockard told him. He remanded Matheus to the custody of the Churchill County Sheriff for imposition of the sentence.
Christopher Anakin Marcellino, in custody, admitted to a Technical Sentencing Violation. It is his third technical violation, in addition to one nontechnical violation. Due to a legal question, Stockard continued the hearing to Oct. 6.
Patricia Pearl Coursey, in custody, appeared for sentencing in two separate cases. The first originated in 2022 after Coursey failed to appear for her scheduled arraignment on June 14, 2022. She was extradited from California to Fallon in 2026.
On July 28, Coursey pleaded guilty to two Category E Felony counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance, one involving methamphetamine and the other heroin. In the second case, she pleaded guilty to the Category D Felony of Failure to Appear After Admission of Bail or Release Without Bail.
SDDA Baker said Coursey was driving from Winnemucca to California with her minor child when law enforcement stopped her.
Coursey told the officer she had used methamphetamine to stay awake for the drive. A canine alerted during the stop, and officers found 4.1 grams of methamphetamine and 0.6 grams of heroin.
“She has a [criminal] history of not adhering to the conditions of probation; she is not a good candidate for probation.”
Alternate Public Defender Noel asked the court to grant Coursey probation with an interstate compact to California, where she has support and employment waiting for her. He said she had gone four years without new violations, had completed every course available while in custody, and recognizes she has a substance abuse problem. Coursey told Stockard, “I did very good on my probation” and “I’m willing to change my life if you give me a chance.”
Stockard sentenced Coursey to 14–48 months in prison on each of the three counts, to run concurrently. He ordered her to pay $3,360.63 in extradition costs and remanded her to the custody of the Churchill County Sheriff for imposition of the sentence.
Georgina Lynn Brown’s status hearing was continued one week to Oct. 6.
LaTanya Karimu, aka Tanya Ruth Stiner, had her arraignment continued to Oct. 20.
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