Lyon County to take on Bustamonte case

The grand larceny and burglary cases against Jaime Bustamonte are out of Carson City hands as of Friday.

The Lyon County District Attorney's office agreed to prosecute the two Carson City cases against 26-year-old Bustamonte, said District Attorney Noel Waters.

Bustamonte was arrested twice on Dec. 9 in two unrelated incidents. Waters said Chief Deputy District Attorney John Schlegelmilch will pursue grand larceny and burglary charges against Bustamonte in Carson City's stead.

Deputy District Attorney Kristen Herzchel Monday asked Justice of the Peace John Tatro to dismiss grand larceny charges against Bustamonte because the District Attorney's Office has a conflict of interest in the case. Tatro dismissed the grand larceny charges with out prejudice meaning the same charges can be refiled now by Schlegelmilch.

The conflict lies in a 3-year-old case in which Waters faces a grand jury investigation over his office's handling of an earlier case involving allegations against Bustamonte.

Grand jurors are being sought to serve after a successful petition drive by developer Ron Weddell. Weddell was arrested in 1997 for shooting at Bustamonte while Weddell was trying to place him under arrest for allegedly trying to run over one of his employees.

The shooting charges were dismissed against Weddell. Former District Judge Michael Fondi ruled someone making a citizen's arrest in Nevada may use deadly force.

Waters is appealing Fondi's ruling, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deadly force is not justified unless someone's life is in danger.

Bustamonte's co-defendant in the grand larceny case, Jamus Cooper, was also released Monday.

The charges against Bustamonte and Cooper stem from an early morning Dec. 2 incident in which Cooper, 19, was arrested on the lot of Michael Hohl Motors. Security officers called police saying two men were seen on the lot at 2 a.m.

Cooper allegedly told deputies he was part of a group stealing cars and transporting them to Fresno. According to the arrest report, Cooper said he was working with someone named Jaime, but that he did not know the man's last name. Cooper was taken into custody on a charge of attempted grand larceny.

In the days following, reports were made to police that additional vehicles had been taken from the Michael Hohl lot, among them a 4x4 GMC reported stolen Dec. 7.

Two days later, deputies found the GMC at the a South Carson apartment complex with license places from another vehicle.

A short time after deputies started watching the stolen car, a vehicle pulled into the parking lot and two men got out and were standing near the GMC. When a deputy approached them, they allegedly ran away.

Deputies responded to the scene and spotted Bustamonte and Michael Stirk coming from between a set of duplexes. Both men were detained by deputies early in the morning hours of Dec. 9.

According to the report, deputies met with Cooper in jail and told him they had detained someone in the case. While asking for Cooper's cooperation, deputies asked if he knew the name of his accomplice. Cooper answered that the name of the man was Jaime Bustamonte.

Deputies asked Cooper when he learned his accomplice's last name and he said a relative had done the leg work for him. Cooper was taken to the scene where he identified Bustamonte.

Stirk was arrested on a warrant issued for failing to appear in Lake Township Justice Court in Pershing County.

Bustamonte was booked on a charge of attempted grand larceny. His bail was $25,000.

Bustamonte was still in custody when the charges were dismissed Monday.

During the hearing, Tatro continued bail on two misdemeanor charges against Bustamonte and set a Feb. 16 to rehear all three charges.

At about 11:10 p.m. the same day, deputies responded to a burglary report in the 1300 block of North Edmonds Drive.

The victims said someone broke into their home taking checks and jewelry.

One of them told deputies she saw a man come out of her garage, who said, "Don't come close to me. I have a gun."

The man then ran away. The woman said the man's first name was Jaime and both were able to give a description.

Deputies showed the witness a picture of Bustamonte and she allegedly identified him.

According to the police report, Bustamonte was home when deputies arrived and was taken into custody on a burglary charge. During booking, deputies allegedly found a plastic baggie in Bustamonte's sock. He was booked into jail on charges of burglary and possession of methamphetamine. His bail set at $27,500.