Sahuarita Municipal Court

Cases below were heard by Judge Maria Avilez on Oct. 20 unless otherwise noted. Information was supplied by the office of the Town Prosecutor Chris Wencker.

Ulisses Isaac Villa, 19, Sahuarita, and John Newton Bessett III, 19, Sahuarita, on suspicion of charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, each took the standard plea bargain, meaning each pleaded conditionally guilty and got fines of about $1,500 that were suspended pending completion of a 16-hour drug education program. The two were arrested Sept. 28 after a police officer on patrol north of Anamax Park was informed by a pedestrian that two vehicles were speeding, went to investigate, saw the vehicles in a nearby driveway and approached the two defendants, who were sitting on the front porch. The responding office said he smelled marijuana told the defendants he was following up on their driving pattern and asked Villa if he smokes marijuana. The officer said in his report that Villa responded, “Yeah I was about to smoke this” and pulled out a marijuana cigarette. Police said that when Bessett stood up to get his license from his car, there was a marijuana cigarette on the chair, so both were cited.

Raul Javier Carranza, 29, Tucson, was given defensive driving school on a speeding charge and took the standard plea bargain on a charge of driving on a suspended license, meaning he pleaded conditionally guilty and got a suspended fine of $562. By producing a valid license in court the defendant can plead guilty instead to the lesser charge of driving with no license in his possession and pay a fine of $143.

Kennie Matthew Correa-Luna, 19, Sahuarita, was ordered to show repairs to an improper brake light and took the standard plea bargain on charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Van Smokey Sedillo, 18, Vail, took the standard plea bargain on a charge of shoplifting, meaning he pleaded conditionally guilty and got a suspended fine of $268 and was ordered to pay a $75 deferred prosecution fee and complete the NASP (National Association of Shoplifting Prevention) anti-shoplifting program, which has its own cost.

Alan Corral, 18, Sahuarita, took the standard plea bargain on a charge of shoplifting.

Miguel Duarte Flores, 63, Tucson, pleaded guilty to one charge of DUI and other charges were dismissed. He originally was stopped for failure stay within his traffic lane. He was given total fines and fees of $2,194 and one day in jail and was ordered to complete the Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim impact panel.

Raymond Joe Shafer, 58, Tucson, pleaded guilty to criminal trespass and failure to appear on a 2007 case and fines were waived because he had already spent a week in jail. On a case involving a charge of false reporting of an emergency through the 9-11 system he was sentenced to time served. Two domestic violence cases were dismissed, one that included an indecent exposure charge.

Joseph Clayton Rohr, 37, Sahuarita, pleaded guilty to two charges of driving on a suspended license and was fined $900 more than the $1,500 he already owed on other charges. The guilty plea won him dismissal of a variety of charges, including driving on a suspended plate, skipping an arraignment, and displaying a fictitious plate.

Arrests and Citations

Luis Alberto Cabrera, 31, Rio Rico, and Jesus Espinoza, 18, Rio Rico, each were charged with theft on Sept. 23 at 12:50 p.m. in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Police were called by a man told them he saw two men standing at the rear of his truck, one holding the caller’s license plate in his hand, then saw them go to another pick-up truck. He yelled at them to give back the license plate or he would call police. He said the man in the driver’s seat, who held the license plate, put it back on his truck, using a Leatherman multi-tool, then drove away. The victim saw the plate number of the truck that was driving away and called police. Officers found a truck near Duval Mine Road and Alpha Avenue that matched the description and license plate given by the victim. They told police they did not take anyone’s plate. Police discovered their plate was suspended for lack of insurance and that one had a Leatherman multi-tool and that the truck they were in resembled the victim’s truck and cited them.

James Robert New, 54, Sahuarita, was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct on Oct. 17 a 12:15 a.m. at Coaches All American Bar. Police were told he arrived in an angry drunken state and began arguing and yelling with various patrons and the bartender. When police arrived the DJ was using the PA system to tell patrons to remain calm because police were on the way. Police told him to leave the bar and said they had to subdue him and take him to the ground outside the bar before they could handcuff him and take him into custody. Police then went inside to question witnesses, but first had to help a Pima County Sheriff’s deputy escort another man outside. The bartender said New had not been served a drink at Coaches.

Patrick Keith Ongley, 42, Sahuarita, was charged with criminal damage on Oct 15 at 4:10 p.m. at the Radio Shack store in Sahuarita Plaza. Ongley said he was upset because he could not return an item his mother had purchased without the packaging and the store manager said he kicked the glass front door, cracking it. Ongley said he kicked it by accident.

Michael Anthony Marshall, 19, Sahuarita, on Oct. 13 was charged with underage drinking for an Aug. 14 incident near the Wal-Mart. Police responding to a vandalism report saw a youth running away, stopped him, saw that he appeared to be drinking, conducted a test with a portable breath test kit, which showed alcohol in his body, and sent the case to the prosecutor.

Jesus L. Ayala, 46, Rio Rico, on Oct. 13 was charged with assault for an incident that took place on March 10. He was working in a care facility and according to reports, pushed an 84-year old woman by her shoulders down into a chair, leaving a red mark that was seen by other staff, who called authorities. An investigation was undertaken and the case was referred to the prosecutor.

Brian Babb, 21, Sahuarita, on Oct. 13 was cited for theft in an incident that took place on March 14 at Denny’s, where he was accused of walking out without paying for the $25 worth of food that he and another man consumed.

Driving on a suspended license

Travis Duane Knight, 20, Tucson, Oct. 15 at 10:35 at Nogales Highway at milepost 50 ; also, no insurance, and

Jesus Armando Brambila, 41, Tucson, on Oct. 15 at 11:55 a.m. at Nogales Highway milepost 50, also no insurance.

pfranchine@sahuarita.com| 547-9738