Carson man pleads in child-porn case

A Carson City man accused of possessing hundreds of images of child pornography pleaded guilty Tuesday to 10 felony counts. He faces from one to 60 years in prison when sentenced March 13.

Jason Eric Excell, 35, entered the guilty pleas before District Judge Bill Maddox.

According to court records, on March 1, Excell's wife turned over to police several computer disks and three computer hard drives that allegedly contained numerous images of child pornography.

Deputy District Attorney Kristin Luis said the 10 photographs for which Excell was charged contained images of children who had previously been identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in connection with other child porn cases across the country.

Several of the photographs were labeled with girls' names and ages - in some cases the age being as young as 5. The pictures contained both boys and girls and were unmistakably pre-pubescent children or children under 16 years old being violated by adult men, investigators said.

Each count of child pornography carries a penalty of one to six years behind bars.

Excell has no previous record outside of traffic tickets.

Also before Maddox on Tuesday:

• Ryan Adams, 22, pleaded guilty to being under the influence of a controlled substance. He will be sentenced March 13.

• Yadira Avena-Torres, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to sell. She will be sentenced Feb. 27.

• Jose Contreras Lopez pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. He will be sentenced Feb. 27.

• Regina Blades, 37, will not have a felony embezzlement charge on her record if she successfully completes drug court, five years' probation and pays restitution to her former employer and a business at which she passed a fraudulent check. If she fails at drug court, she will receive 12 to 32 months in prison.

• John Roland Lahair III, 40, was sentenced to 12 to 30 months in prison on a charge of third-offense drunken driving. He was given credit for 16 days time served and must pay a $2,000 fine.

• Julie C. Lane, 47, pleaded no contest to a charge of possession of a controlled substance. Maddox informed Lane there is no difference between pleas of no contest and guilty - they are treated the same under Nevada law. She will be sentenced March 18.

• Jorge Leon, 42, was given up to five years' probation with a suspended sentence of 24 to 60 months in prison on a charge of attempted assault with a deadly weapon. Leon blamed an addiction to alcohol for attempting to attack his wife's friend with a knife.

"I regret very much what I have done," he said through an interpreter. "If I get probation, I will go to rehab."

• Diego Daniel Escobedo, 18, was sentenced to up to five years' probation with a suspended sentence of 12 to 48 months in prison on a charge of burglary. He had initially been given the option of boot camp, but he was dismissed from boot camp when a warrant demanded he have DNA testing done to compare against DNA found at the scene of a fatal October shooting in Carson City. The results of the DNA comparison in the shooting have not been completed.

• Christine Marie Derose, 26, pleaded guilty to third-offense drunken driving. She will be sentenced March 13.

• Jose Carlos Escobar, 26, pleaded not guilty to a charge of eluding police and endangering persons or property. He was arrested Dec. 22 after deputies attempted a traffic stop on College Parkway. Escobar allegedly jumped out of his moving vehicle, which then went up onto the sidewalk and into the parking lot of Sonic, catching an electrical stand and bushes on fire. A tow truck driver received minor injuries from the fire. Escobar's attorney estimated a trial would take three days.

• Francisco Javier Nuno-Vera, aka Lopez Vargas, pleaded guilty to principal to trafficking. He faces 12 to 72 months when sentenced March 13.

• Kevin Michael Maslow, 21, was sentenced to up to five years' probation, with a suspended sentence of 12 to 48 months in prison. Maslow pleaded guilty to gross misdemeanor discharging a firearm where a person might be endangered and was found guilty by a Carson City jury of possession of a controlled substance for sale. The jury was not able to come to a decision on one charge of trafficking.

Maslow was arrested in March 2006 after reporting he'd warded off an assault by firing a gun at two assailants outside his apartment on Moses Street. Bullets pierced a nearby occupied home. No one was hurt.

When deputies entered Maslow's apartment they allegedly saw a pipe with marijuana sitting on a dresser and recovered was at least a pound of marijuana, 28 grams of psychedelic mushrooms, $3,900 in cash and two guns, according to the arrest report.

Maslow was also ordered to complete 120 hours of community service.

• Lacey Shannon Sayre, 22, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale. She faces 12 to 48 months in prison when sentenced March 20.

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.