Sadith Chavez-Perez and Carla Regalado

Two Las Vegas women are in the White Pine county Jail, each on a $1 million bond after a routine traffic stop turned into a major drug bust.

Sadith Chavez-Perez and Carla Regalado were arrested Thursday on several drug charges after deputies discovered well over three pounds of the meth were discovered in their car after the duo was stopped for speeding.

“They were clocked at 80 miles per hour on the Ely/McGill road (60 mph speed limit),” said White Pine County Sheriff. “They drove right up behind a patrol car.”

A search of their vehicle discovered 3.32 pounds of meth. Given the amount of the drugs it is likely the product was pure and had not yet been cut with filler products. Street value of the meth could range between $40,000 to $80,000 depending on where it is sold.

Situated on US 93, a major transit route for illegal drugs large bust such as this one are becoming more common in Ely and White Pine County.

Earlier this month A Washington State man appeared before a federal magistrate judge to answer federal drug distribution charges after a Nevada Highway Patrol Officer, with the assistance of the Eastern Nevada Narcotic Task Force found 26 pounds of methamphetamine valued at $510,315. And six pounds of heroin valued at $67,500. In the tractor-trailer he was driving on U.S. Highway 6 in White Pine County, Nev.

Victor H. Orozco, 38, of Grandview, Wash., is charged in a two-count federal indictment dated May 1, 2013, with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute heroin. He pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie P. Cooke and is detained pending trial. If convicted on either count, he faces a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison, and a $10 million fine.

Orozco, who was driving a tractor trailer containing watermelons, was pulled over by a Nevada Highway Patrol Officer on April 27, 2013, pursuant to a commercial vehicle inspection. Orozco consented to a search of the tractor-trailer. The Officer located indicators that possible drugs were being transported by Orozco and the Eastern Nevada Narcotics Task Force was called in to assist in the investigation. Officers discovered the methamphetamine and heroin wrapped in plastic under the sleeping compartment of the tractor in a large, black duffel bag.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Keller, in coordination with White Pine County District Attorney Kelly Brown, and investigated by the Department of Public Safety, Eastern Nevada Narcotic Task Force, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

Burdel Welsh

Burdel Welsh, a Kansas lawman will be the new West Wendover Chief of Police.

Welsh, 57, was appointed by Mayor Emily Carter Tuesday and unanimously endorsed by the city council in Tuesdays meeting.

A 35 year veteran of law enforcement Welsh hails from Tonganoxie, Kansas a city of about 5,000 in Leavenworth county.  In an election profile he submitted to the Tonganoxie Mirror in 2009 (reprinted below) Welsh wrote that he spent most of his career with the Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Department leaving in 2005 as Under Sheriff.

After 2005 he was served as Police chief of Lake Quivira, Kansas  and in 2009 was elected to the city council of Tonganoxie. In 2010 Welsh resign his council seat and left Kansas to become Deputy Chief of Police at the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS), formerly known as Kwajalein Missile Range on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. 

The atoll lies in the Ralik Chain, 2,100 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. The population of Kwajalein Island is currently around 1,000 individuals, mostly Americans and a small number of Marshall Islanders and other nationals, all of whom have express permission from the U.S. Army to live there

In 2012 Welsh returned to Tonganoxie to run for Leavenworth County Sheriff. He lost the race and when the West Wendover chief’s job opened up with the retirement of Ron Supp in November was one of 45 candidates who submitted an application.

In several areas Tonganoxie is quite similar to West Wendover. It population at 5,000 is about the same and the town also has one high school, one middle school and one elementary school. It like West Wendover is also the third largest community in Leavenworth County which is also dominated by a much larger city that is the county seat and shares the same name with the county as Elko does here.

With Leavenworth county bordering the Kansas/Missouri state line, Welsh certainly has experience in interstate relations that often bedevil law enforcement operations.

But while the two cities have much in common there are some important differences. Tonganoxie is by no means a tourist town. It was illegal to even buy a drink in Leavenworth county until the late 1980’s. And while Kansas does have a handful of legal casinos none are close to Tonganoxie.

Wendover on the other hand lives or dies by the entertainment industry. Boasting five major casino/resorts and a have a dozen of hotels on the Utah side the casino industry directly employs over 80 percent of the workforce including there of the five West Wendover City Councilmen and the mayor. While Tonganoxie population stays relatively stable year round, Wendover’s can swell up to four times or more its size during the weekends especially during the peak summer months.

Supp, his predecessor, angered the casino industry by setting up tourist jay walking stings and by proposing all alcohol servers including bartenders and cocktail waitresses and waiters undergo police back ground checks. The cost of which would have cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Another major difference is in demographics. According to the 2010 census Tonganoxie is over 95 percent white and English speaking with less than four percent of the population identifying as Hispanic or Latino.

West Wendover is a minority/majority community according to the same census with over 60 percent of its population identifying as Latino/Hispanic. And relations between the local police and the Hispanic community have been severely strained.

In 2011 Supp alienated the Hispanic community by having his officers actively participate in raid by Immigration that came with an assault helicopter. The action virtually shut down Wendover and led to the arrest of just ten suspects. Two of whom were released the same day after they could prove they were not illegal aliens.

The animosity that raid created may explain why when a serial petty criminal Trucker Morales slipped his bonds and escaped police custody after his arrest a year later he became a something of folk hero allegedly aided in his 30 days on the lam by the community.

There are currently no Hispanic officers in the West Wendover police Department.

The new chief’s biggest challenge might however be with the business community. Supp and his officers often tangled with many of them most prominently the owner of the local strip club and the owner of the adult book/video/ lingerie store.

Supp’s fight were not however just contained to the sin businesses he went head to head against the Wendover Ambulance company and then complained to the city council about the ‘unfair’ coverage he was receiving from the High Desert Advocate.

In His Own Words, New WWPD Chief Burdel Welsh

(Editors note the following was originally published in the Tonganoxie Mirror in 2009. we are republishing it to give our readers some insight into the new police chief of West Wendover)

  Age: 52

Family: Married for 31 years to Cynthia Welsh, father of Jim Welsh (29) of Lawrence and Brian Welsh (26) of Tonganoxie. Both sons went through the Tonganoxie school system and graduated from Tonganoxie High School. Cynthia is the Treasurer/Business Manager for Trinity Lutheran Church, Leavenworth and Basehor Campuses. Jim is a police officer for the City of Lawrence. Brian is a police officer for the City of Leavenworth and an EMT-I and volunteer firefighter for the City of Tonganoxie.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, and scheduled to complete a Master of Business Administration in May 2009 from the University of Phoenix. Numerous other occupational related certifications.

Occupation: Chief of Police, Lake Quivira, Kansas in Johnson and Wyandotte Counties

Political and government experience: Thirty-three years of government employment, serving with the Atchison County Sheriff’s Department as deputy and acting undersheriff; civilian employee for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Topeka; deputy sheriff with the Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office; director of Leavenworth County Emergency Management; police officer for the University of Kansas, Lawrence; undersheriff for Leavenworth County; and chief of police for Lake Quivira.

Clubs or organizations: Sec-Treasurer for the Johnson County Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Association, Member National Rifle Association, Wyandotte County Law Enforcement Professionals, Kansas Peace Officers Association, and Kansas Chiefs of Police Association.

Why are you running for a council seat?

Two qualified candidates had filed for re-election, but no one had filed for the third opening. I felt it was an opportunity to serve the community, and if someone else filed, the voters would have more than one candidate to choose from in the election. I hope my education and experience will make me one of their choices on election day.

What is your top priority for Tonganoxie and why?

My top priority is to develop a good working relationship with the other members of the city council. One vote will accomplish nothing. A council member must have the confidence and support of the other council members to swing the vote on issues. I recognize the experience and education that other members of the council bring to the table. I hope they will learn to trust and support my judgment. Together, we can face the current economic issues facing business and government and make the best decisions. Tonganoxie needs a strong team to lead the city forward.

What qualifications should voters know about you?

I have been a resident of Tonganoxie since 1991 and a Leavenworth County resident since 1978. Through the Sheriff’s Office, I worked in and around Tonganoxie, even when I did not live here. This has given me an historical perspective of where Tonganoxie has been and the direction it is going. Besides working for government, my wife and I have owned and operated small retail businesses for 27 years. This experience gives me another perspective on the issues facing the city and businesses. I hope my practical business experience, along with my education, will help me to formulate good decisions with the council.

What is the most pressing issue facing the city and how do you propose to take care of it?

I believe the economy is foremost on everyone’s mind. The news media puts the financial situation in front of us many times each day. The knee-jerk reaction is to close the doors and stop spending, but we must find a way to live within our budget and keep the doors of Tonganoxie open, seeking growth and new opportunity within our means. I believe we will come through the current economic downturn and we must be positioned to take advantage of the good times ahead.

What should the city do when it is facing cuts in revenue and slower growth?

The city must find a way to operate within its means, but keep the momentum moving forward in a positive direction. Some cuts have been made by the current council and these cuts will need to be re-evaluated on a regular basis. More cuts may be necessary, or some projects may be restored. Major capital projects must be timed to take advantage of the limited state and federal funds available. This may mean moving forward with projects in a time when some will say we should not be doing anything. Foregoing the opportunity to obtain state and federal funding will only cost more in the long term.

A Salt Lake City man who briefly tasted freedom is back in custody after escaping from an unlocked West Wendover police cruiser Monday morning.

24-year-old John A. Ramirez-Juarez was arrested Monday after first running a stop sign and then being found in possession of drug paraphernalia. Ramirez was cuffed and put into the back seat of the cruiser but once inside he was sober enough to notice that the electronic window still worked.

In a feat of daring do Ramirez lowered the window and climbed out of the car.

He didn’t get far on his own but with police help he made it all the way to the Elko County Jail.

click link for meeting

click link for meeting

Boasting 250 members  White Pine & Ely Politics has become a lively forum for ely residents to express their opinions on just about anything political in Ely and many of them have not been kind to either Bybee or to City Clerk Jim Alworth.

Last week Bybee put this item on the agenda: Discussion for Possible Action- Consideration of a response to misinformation circulating at this time regarding the city of Ely.

“I think it is kind of silly,” said founder of the facebook page Audrey Clark. “I started the page to give people a chance to comment on the issues they felt were important. If Mr. Bybee doesn’t agree with them, he is free to join and to post.”

“Thursday’s Ely City Council meeting will certainly have a lot of fireworks.” Wrote group member Wyatt Cox on his own blog. “One of the most controversial items is the item by retiring Councilman Bybee, “Consideration of a response to misinformation circulating at this time regarding the City of Ely.”

This item is aimed directly at this website and at the Facebook White Pine and Ely Politics group.

All this group asks, and all this website asks, is a little honesty in government.  And what we get from most of our sitting Councilmen and those at the top of our City Government is just that.  Very little honesty.”

As one would expect most of the posting pertain to the upcoming municipal election where it seems controversial City Clerk Jim Alworth is becoming a major issue.

Most recently coming off a confrontation with City Councilman Marty Westland, Alworth that almost came to blows earlier this year.

In the next agenda item Bybee is asking for an independent prosecutor to investigate Westland for ethics violations.

Bybee’s attempt to squelch the page may have the opposite effect and also may have given a boost to Bruce Setterstrom’s campaign to replace Bybee.

The only candidate in this June’s election to regularly post on the page Setterstrom wrote:

these are the agenda items for 5-23-2013 city council meeting. Tomorrow please attend if possible to defend your facebook rights. Please attend to show support for Marty Westland one of only 2 councilmen who has your back. And please attend to show you do care what happens in our city. Thank you all Bruce remember nothing changes if nothing changes.

Howard Copelan, Publisher

Nothing quite illustrates just how fragile our hold on life is than having a car smash against our bedroom wall just when we were going to sleep.

Or as our grandfather of blessed memory once said: Everything was fine and then it wasn’t.

So what lesson can we take from the event of Saturday night?

Only that life is precious and good and this is the one traffic accident that we can state categorically we weren’t at fault in any way.

Which for us is an achievement.

There is a nice little facebook page that has some councilman’s panties in a twist.

Everyone has a right to their own opinion and not a day goes by that someone opinion makes us angry.

But lord love a duck man you don’t put it on a council agenda.

Even if they are wrong and you got a note from the Almighty you don’t make it a public issue.

What’s next going after the guys who right on bathroom walls?

As incendiary rabble rousing facebook pages go White Pine & Ely Politics is about as pedestrian as a little old lady from Pasadena.

The folks who are members of it and the ones who are posting are simply taking advantage of the relatively new technology to voice their first amendments rights.

It is in that little thing called the Constitution, that piece of paper you swore to G0d to uphold and defend.

You can join the conversation or you cannot but are you seriously going to sick lawyers on these good people?

Get real and try for a small amount of shame.

Speaking of shame how about a little bit from our president?

We are old enough to remember one of the defenses of Watergate was that Kennedy and Johnson were just as bad.

To which we replied so what?

Bad is bad whether it came from a Democrat or a Republican. Bad was bad back then and it is just as bad now.

Sicking the IRS on groups and individuals, intimidating reporters, stealing their phone records is bad. It is also morally wrong and illegal.

What was that line?

There is no blue America, there is no red America, there is the United States of America.

We did get a thrill up our leg when we heard it too.

Too bad the guy who said now stinks to high heaven.

FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT 

 DEPARTMENT 1

COURT SCHEDULE

LAW & MOTION CALENDAR

May 20, 2013

CR-FO-12-79 Hofhine, Jamie Lynn (DA/Evenson) Sentencing (Obtaining and Using Personal Identifying Information of Another for an Unlawful Purpose)

   CR-FP-11-1307 Larsen, Ian Martin (DA/Macfarlan) Change of Plea (Driving Under the Influence with Two or More Prior Convictions)

   CR-FP-12-12-799 Ferguson, Brianna Ranae (DA/Stewart) Sentencing (Possession of a Controlled Substance)

CR-FP-12-1397 Oldfield, Christie Lee (DA/Kilpatrick) Sentencing (Possession of a Controlled Substance)

   CR-FP-13-205 Bravo, Horacio Lutz (DA/Foster) Arraignment (Possession of a Controlled Substance)

Burdel Welsh

Keith Wiley Arraignment

Kelsey Rae Corkum Probation Revocation Hearing

Anthony M. Ferriolo Arraignment

Daniel Norgaard Arraignment

Antoinette Ooshawe Arraignment

James Allen Repinec Sentencing

Curtis Blaine Williams Arraignment

Devon Zerrance Bishop Sentencing

Scene of crash 1 am Sunday, Jonny H Carrillo-Mendoza inset

A high speed chase ended at midnight  at the bedroom wall of Advocate Publishers Howard and Corinne Copelan.

Advocate Publishers Corinne and Howard Copelan escaped serious injury around midnight when a car smashed into their house around midnight Saturday.

“Whoever was driving took a left at very high speed lost control and hit the house,” said Howard Copelan. “Luckily for us he smashed through the deck we keep our vendor boxes and the boxes cushioned some of the impact. They are destroyed but they soften the blow and they family is safe sound although a little bit rattled.”

The suspect Jonny H Carrillo-Mendoza was charged with reckless driving, under the influence and leaving the scene and other related charges.

According to police reports the chase began after Mendoza was seen blowing a stop. No mention was made on how fast either Mendoza or the police chasing him were traveling.

According to Utah Highway Patrol reports the victim whose name is not yet released was driving a car in the right lane of travel when he came to a complete stop near the six mile marker just east of Wendover.

He exited the vehicle and was standing near the front of his small pickup. A semi-truck slowed and moved to the left lane prior to arriving near the pickup. The driver of the pickup was struck with the side view mirror of the semi. The accident occurred around 3:20 Friday morning.

The victim is said to be in critical condition, but was speaking with emergency personal when he was transported from the scene by ambulance. He was transported to Delle then airlifted to the University of Utah.

The accident did not cause any closures on the freeway.