Carson City man jailed for suspicion of statutory sexual seduction, providing marijuana to minor

A 19-year-old Carson City man was arrested Saturday morning for suspicion of giving marijuana to a person under 18-years-old, a gross misdemeanor, driving with suspended registration, driving with no insurance, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. After being arrested, he was later booked for statutory sexual seduction, a gross misdemeanor.

The man was arrested after deputies were patrolling near Mils Park on Saturday around 4 a.m. when they observed a vehicle drive out of Mills Park and turn right onto East William Street. A moment later, another vehicle started its engine and followed the same path as the first vehicle.

Deputies conducted a traffic stop on the second vehicle after it came back with a suspended registration flag. According to the report, as deputies approached the vehicle they noted there was excessive exhaust smoke coming from the vehicle, which masked the deputies’ sense of smell for several minutes.

They made contact with the driver and a young female juvenile sitting in the passenger seat and asked for the driver’s ID and paperwork. He gave deputies the items, including an insurance card that expired in July.

The deputies explained to the driver that Mills Park is closed after sunset, and asked who was in the truck that had left just before them. The man said he didn’t know who was in the truck, and that he had brought his sister to the park as she had had a bad day at school.

The deputies asked the juvenile for ID, and she said she didn’t have any, and that she was 15 years old. She said she just moved to town and didn’t know her address, and that she and the driver had the same mother but different fathers and lived at different houses, according to the arrest report.

Another deputy arrived and, as they had not inhaled the exhaust smoke, was able to smell the odor of marijuana coming from the car. The driver admitted to the second deputy he had smoked marijuana about an hour before.

Deputies called for a K9 unit, and had the driver and the juvenile step out of the car.

The juvenile said she was cold while standing outside, and deputies offered her to sit in the rear of the patrol vehicle to keep warm, and she agreed. While in the vehicle, without being prompted, she said she wanted to be honest with the cops and not get into trouble. Deputies read her the Juvenile Miranda rights and she declined having her parents present and wished to speak with them.

She said she got bored at a friend’s sleepover and asked her brother to pick her up and take her to Mills Park and meet up with some mutual friends. She said her friends were in the first vehicle that had left the park. She said the driver had provided her with a marijuana joint that they smoked together.

She then admitted the driver was not related to her and they were just friends from school and were not in a dating relationship. She then provided her real name, and admitted she was 14 years old. She said the driver had told her to lie and provide a fake name, birthday, and claim they were family.

A K-9 deputy arrived and conducted a sniff of the vehicle, resulting in a marijuana joint being found inside the vehicle.

The driver was arrested and cited, and the juvenile was taken to Juvenile Detention for curfew violation while they attempted to track down her parents.

After the juvenile was released to a parent later on, she disclosed she had engaged in sexual conduct with the driver inside his vehicle and Mills Park prior to being contacted by patrol.

A detective was notified of the incident and went to interview the female juvenile. She described to the deputy that at Mills Park the driver had exhibited inappropriate behavior toward her, and that the driver knew she had been 14. She said she had been uncomfortable during the incident but did not say or do anything to stop him. She said he stopped when he saw patrol deputies and they drove out of Mills Park, where they were stopped.

The detective went to speak with the driver who was still in custody at the Carson City Jail, who admitted he had known the juvenile was 14, and that he had met her at Mills Park where they listened to music and smoked marijuana which he provided.

He admitted to hugging and kissing the juvenile, and then engaging in inappropriate behavior with the juvenile, but claimed that she had initiated the contact and he had stopped before doing “anything else that would get him into trouble, according to the arrest report.

Deputies informed the man that because he admitted to engaging in inappropriate behavior with the juvenile, he was going to be charged with gross misdemeanor statutory sexual seduction. Bail: $4,623.

In other arrests:
— A 59-year-old Carson City man was arrested in the 1700 block of N. Carson Street for felony possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, a failure to appear traffic warrant, and a reckless driving traffic warrant.

Tony Cervantes was arrested after deputies responded to a motel after someone called 911 and left the line open. While deputies were on route, the line disconnected.

Deputies arrived at the motel and attempted to search for the caller. Dispatch advised they were able to re-contact the caller from the phone number and the caller gave them their room number. She reported she was upset and said she was having problems with her boyfriend.

Deputies went up to the room and made contact with Cervantes and the caller, his girlfriend. According to the report, she was visibly upset and crying. She said she can’t take it anymore and needs to break the cycle and get away from Cervantes, whom she had been in a relationship with for three years. She said the argument was verbal that night, but that he says mean things to her and threatened to kill her if he goes to jail.

She said he would be bailed out quickly by his boss, and was afraid of Cervantes once he would get out.

Once deputies determined there had been no domestic battery, Cervantes said he was going to leave to get away from the situation and “let things cool off.” As he was leaving, the woman asked if the deputies could remove the rigs from the room. Deputies asked her to clarify, and she said she was so sick and tired of his drug use and shooting up.

Inside the room, found by a speaker at the end of a table, deputies located the following items:

A used hypodermic syringe with a white substance at the tip.

A small Ziploc bag with a small amount of white crystalline substance, believed to be methamphetamine.

A black cell phone, allegedly used by Cervantes to contact and record people when he made drug deals.

Deputies went to speak with Cervantes and asked when he has last used drugs. He said maybe a few days ago. They asked him what drugs were inside the room, and he said there was nothing inside the room and he is too poor to keep any supply of drugs. He said he only buys small amounts when he can, from a “guy up the road and which are wrapped up in a yellow plastic grocery bag.” He said he will sometimes smoke or inject methamphetamine.

He said if he had drugs, he would keep them next to a speaker at the end of a table, which is where the drugs in the room were found.

Deputies showed him the bag they had found in the room, and he said he didn’t know what it was. They told him they had found it in the exact location he had said he normally kept his drugs.

He was detained and handcuffed, at which point he said he bought methamphetamine for both himself and his girlfriend and that the bag was possibly his, but from a long time ago.

He was taken into custody without incident. Bail: $5,190; $1,553 cash only.

— A 35-year-old Carson City woman was arrested for domestic battery Saturday night after deputies responded to a residence in the 700 block of Rolando Way for a report of a domestic battery.

Deputies arrived on scene and spoke with the woman, who was the reporting party in the incident. She appeared to be very intoxicated, according to the report, and was holding her six month old baby.

The woman was reluctant to provide any details to the incident. The most deputies were able to learn, according to the report, was that the man in the incident had come home from work, he was angry, he threw marijuana bong water on her, he woke up the baby and he pushed her. She said the baby hit their head on the edge of the couch when she had fallen. EMS was requested to respond to check not he child, who had a small red mark on their forehead.

She was uncooperative with deputies and made comments that the man didn’t know the baby’s schedule and she was fearful of going to jail. Deputies asked her why she was saying that, but she wouldn’t give any further information.

The man was hostile toward the reporting deputy and didn’t want to speak with them. He told deputies that he and the woman had been in an argument when she attacked him and he pushed her back defensively. He had visible injuries to his lip and on the left side of his face, according to the report, and he said she slipped and fell back holding the baby, causing the injury to the baby’s head.

Deputies concluded that the woman had been the primary aggressor, and she was placed under arrest for domestic battery. Bail: $3,137.

— A 31-year-old transient woman was arrested Sunday night for felony possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of drug paraphernalia, and a possession of a controlled substance warrant out of Carson City Justice Court.

Deputies were dispatched to a local casino on reroots of an unwanted subject. Deputies arrived on scene to trespass the male subject, but found he had already left by the time they got there.

They spoke with a female subject, later identified to be Laura Michelle Knafelc, who had been hanging out with the unwanted male subject, who said he had left. When deputies asked if he had left in a silver SUV, she became very nervous, according to the report. When they asked for her ID, deputies said she was visibly shaking. Dispatch ran the license plate on the SUV that the man had left in which came back to Knafelc.

Dispatch also advised she had a felony warrant out of her arrest for possession one a controlled substance.

She was taken into custody on the warrant. During a search of her person they found a red bag inside her sweatshirt, which contained methamphetamine and a methamphetamine pipe. Bail: $6,137.

— A 25-year-old Carson City man was arrested in the area of N. Carson Street and E. Telegraph St early Sunday morning on the charges of reckless driving, speeding 11-15 mph over the speed limit, and DUI first.

Deputies stopped the man after hearing the sound of a diesel engine revving at a high RPM, and observed a truck traveling northbound on Carson Street, which deputies estimated was approximately 45-50 mph in a 25 mph zone.

When deputies made contact with the driver, they noted he had slurred and slow speech, blood shot and watery eyes, and a noticeable sway. He said he had been at a bar drinking but refused to say what and how much.

He blew a preliminary test of .187 percent breath alcohol content. He was taken into custody and charged with the above offenses. Bail: $1,876.

— A 34-year-old Carson City woman was arrested for petit larceny Saturday evening at a local department store after allegedly shoplifting cosmetic items. Bail: $352.

Warrants:

— James Christopher Headrick, 59, of Rippen, CA man was transported to the Carson City Jail on a $20,000 warrant, issued in March for felony theft of $3,500 or more. Bail: $20,000.

— A 32-year-old Mound House woman was arrested in the 800 block of S. Minnesota Street Sunday night on the charge of misdemeanor violation of a suspended sentence. The warrant was issued in November of 2017 for failure to report to the Division of Alternative Sentencing as ordered by the courts. Bail: $3,000.

— A 38-year-old Santa Rosa, CA man was transported to the Carson City Jail on warrants charging violation of conditions of bail and violation of a suspended sentence. One warrant was issued in November for the man allegedly removing his GPS device and having access to edged weapons, and the second was a bench warrant issued on the same charges out of district court, issued in December. No bail hold in lieu of a hearing.

— A 43-year-old Carson City man was arrested on a warrant charging battery and destruction of property, issued on Dec. 21. Bail: $3,000.

— An 18-year-old Carson City man was arrested on a failure to appear warrant out of Carson City Justice Court.

Deputies responded to a report of several juveniles “partying and consuming alcohol” at a Long street residence. Upon arrival, deputies found four juveniles in a car, listening to loud music and the vehicle smelled of marijuana. One of the subjects identified himself by name and birthday, which dispatch confirmed he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for failing to appear in court in August, and he was taken into custody. Bail: $1,000.

— All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) comes from the arrest reports supplied by the Carson City Sheriff's Office, and is considered by law to be public information. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The policy of Carson Now is to name anyone who is arrested for a felony offense.