Woman sentenced to probation for helping prisoner to escape

A former Nevada prison employee accused of helping in the escape of an inmate was placed on five years probation on Monday.

Carson City District Judge Mike Griffin gave Ana Kastner, 41, a suspended prison sentence of 19 to 40 months, for providing a cell phone to inmate Jody Thompson. Kastner was working as a dental assistant at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center, where Thompson, 25, was serving a sentence of 10 to 50 years for robbery, use of a deadly weapon and grand larceny in Clark and Nye counties.

Thompson used the phone to coordinate his escape last August in a furniture delivery truck.

He was captured in late November in Las Vegas following a profile on "America's Most Wanted," and an alleged crime spree that included robbing stores and holding an elderly couple hostage for three hours during a police manhunt.

Thompson had been serving 10 to 50 years for robbery, use of a deadly weapon and grand larceny in Clark and Nye counties.

Griffin lectured Kastner at her sentencing, noting she had been nabbed for using drugs while out on bail following her arrest for her role in the escape. She has spent more than four months in jail since the escape.

"If you think it's going to be party-on time from now on, you're sadly mistaken," Griffin said.

"I feel really ignorant for what I did," Kastner tearfully said. "I never knew he was locked up for something so awful and so much."

Kaisa Haynes, 38, of Las Vegas, faces trial Aug. 22 for her role in Thompson's escape. She's accused of renting a car that brought Thompson from Northern Nevada to Southern Nevada after he jumped out of the furniture truck in which he was hiding.

Prosecutors said Haynes turned the car over to Keith Barney and Daniel McLeroy, who picked up Thompson. Barney, 33, has been sentenced to up to 2 1/2 years in prison for his role in the escape, while McLeroy, 31, faces trial in September.

Thompson now faces trial in Clark County on multiple felonies, including burglary, robbery, grand theft and possession of stolen property.

In other cases before Griffin on Monday:

• Roger Scott Drum, 38, didn't appear for a pre-sentencing interview and was remanded into custody to await sentencing April 10 on a charge of felony possession of stolen property.

• Dewey Harold Gionta, 38, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

At the prompting of Griffin, Gionta, who has previous felony convictions, explained how police became involved. "I was at my mother's house and she asked me to unload a black-powder pistol so she could sell it at a pawn shop and when I went outside to take the cap off, it exploded and blew my finger off," he said displaying the missing digit on his left hand. He faces 12 to 72 months in prison when sentenced April 24.

• Walter Robert Kayler, 51, admitted violating his probation on a sex offense by having pornography, using methamphetamine and associating with felons. Kayler was reinstated to probation and ordered to continue sex-offender counseling.

• Robert Oborny, 27, must complete up to 190 days in a boot-camp program and was sentenced to five years probation on a charge of attempted burglary. "I made a mistake and I'm willing to pay whatever you try to give me," Oborny said. His accomplice in the theft was his father, Thomas J. Oborny, 56, who is serving one to three years for attempted burglary - his eighth felony.

• David Lee Roberts, 28, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. He faces 12 to 24 months in prison when sentenced May 1.

• Ted Ross Samuelson, 38, pleaded guilty to passing a forged check. He was released on his own recognizance to await his sentencing May 1 in which he faces one to four years in prison.

• Natalie Rene Snyder, 41, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary. She was released on her own recognizance on the condition she does not contact the victim or drink alcohol. She faces up to one year in jail when sentenced May 1.

• Carlos Pinon-Moreno, 28, was sentenced to 12 to 32 months in prison on a charge of sale of a controlled substance. This was Pinon-Moreno's second such charge for which he previously served prison time and was deported from the country. Immigration services has a hold on him and he could possibly face additional federal charges for being an illegal alien having been previously deported.

• Rex Kevin Warren, 24, was remanded into the custody of the jail after failing to appear for a pre-sentence interview on a charge of gross misdemeanor taking of a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. He will be sentenced April 4 and faces up to a year in jail.

• A $10,000 bench warrant was issued for Robin Marie Jensen, 30, after she failed to show up for sentencing on a charge of attempted theft.