Mother Sentenced to 52-216 Months in Prison for Child Endangerment with Deadly Weapon

By Teresa Moon

Norma Jean Shell appeared for sentencing on October 10th in the Tenth Judicial District Court before Judge Thomas Stockard on  a Category B Felony charge of Abuse, Neglect, Endangerment of a Child with a Prior Conviction, which carries a potential penalty of 2-15 years in Nevada State Prison, and to a Category D Felony of Coercion with the Use of Physical Force or the Immediate Threat of Physical Force with a Firearm or a Deadly Weapon, which carries a potential penalty of 1-6 years and a fine of up to $5,000. In July Shell pleaded guilty both charges. 

Deputy District Attorney Priscilla Baker told the court that the incident began when Shell became upset because the family dog urinated on her bed. Following this, she made her children lie and sit on the wet bed. Shell then took the dog and the children outside, where she threatened to kill the dog and fired rounds of ammunition from a gun near the children. She then instructed one of her children to kill the dog, but the command was refused. 

Shell and her children returned to the inside of the home, where the defendant then went into her child's room, placed the firearm in her child's hand, put the child's finger on the trigger, and put the gun to her head. Shell told her child to "shoot her in the head." When the child would not pull the trigger, the defendant then took the firearm back and discharged it in close proximity to that child. It was later determined that Shell had a blood alcohol level of 0.125. 

In a written statement, the child reported that her ears were painful for days from the gunshots, and she had headaches even after her ears stopped hurting. She explained that she became paranoid about seeing her mother someplace, paranoid about her phone, cameras, people, and cars. Additionally, she lost a lot of personal items that her mother destroyed. "She would switch personalities or demeanor at random and could blow up at us for anything, which would happen often," said the child.

"This is a mother who was supposed to protect her children. Instead, this mother is someone who the children needed to be protected from," stated Baker, who reported that despite knowing there is a no-contact order and that her children do not wish to see her, Shell recently went to the residence where her children are staying and tried to see them multiple times.

Churchill County Public Defender Jacob Sommer told the court that it is clear his client has problems, both medical and substance abuse-related, explaining that she would be walking out of the courtroom as a twice-convicted felon, which is a significant penalty in itself. "The solution to this problem is not to send her off to prison," said Sommer. "She can be treated, and she can be supervised." 

He urged the judge to consider probation with a suspended sentence, with the added condition that Shell enter and complete the Western Regional Drug Court and Mental Health Court programs. "The behavior that got us here was not appropriate, totally scary, and not something any child should have to go through. But Ms. Shell's problem is something that we can deal with in a way that's a little more responsible. Your Honor, Ms. Shell has a severe alcohol disorder. She needs help. She needs treatment… I think that a more intensive program would be very helpful for her. And that could include the mental health component that she clearly appears to need."

Shell addressed the court, stating she would like to apologize for her behavior. She said she realizes she has a problem with alcohol and wants to make positive changes. The defendant stated, "I would like to pursue ways of rectifying that through supervision, counseling, and therapy. I can be supervised, and I would like the opportunity."

Judge Stockard told Shell, "I have considered the arguments of both counsels: imprisonment versus probation. In this case, though both are persuasive, I'm going to decline your privilege of probation and remand you to the custody of the Sheriff for imposition of the sentence imposed."

On Count One, Abuse, Neglect, or Endangerment of a Child with a Prior Conviction, Shell received 24-120 months in prison. On Count Two, Coercion with the Use of Physical Force or the Immediate Threat of Physical Force with a Firearm or Deadly Weapon, she received 14-48 months, with an enhancement of 14-48 months for the use of a firearm. All three sentences are to run consecutively. The aggregated sentence is 52-216 months in Nevada State Prison. Credit was given for 29 days of time served. Fees and assessments were imposed.