William Cross III
Two Fallon men did not appear Tuesday in District Court for their sentencing hearings.
As a result, bench warrants were issued for Michael David Regan and William Cross III. Both are represented by defense attorney Jacob Sommer, who told Judge Robert Estes that he could not locate Regan, but met with Cross on Monday, who said he would be in court.
Cross, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a controlled substance, 28 grams or more, in May stemming from an arrest in July 2012. Sommer said he met with his client at least once per week including on Monday for about two hours.
“From what I understand, he would be here,” Sommer told Estes. “I do not know where he is.”
Sommer asked for a one-week continuance in the Cross case, while Churchill County Senior Deputy District Attorney Ben Shawcroft urged the court for a bench warrant.
As for Regan, Sommer said he mailed notices to several known addresses but received no confirmation from his client. Regan’s mother’s told Sommer the family had not spoken with him in months and they did not know his whereabouts.
Churchill County District Attorney Art Mallory said Regan has “a history, almost a career” of failing to appear for court hearings.
Regan plead guilty earlier this year to one count of attempted home invasion, Mallory added. According to the DA, Regan entered the attached garage of a Fallon woman’s home in the early morning, but she grabbed a frying pan to prevent Regan from entering the residence. There were also two teenage daughters in the residence, Mallory said.
The woman then locked him in the garage and notified police. Regan, though, left the garage through a window, but left his shoes and was later arrested by the police.
Churchill County Deputy District Attorney Sean Alexander said Regan’s initial sentencing date in October 2012 was continued six months to allow Regan to enter the Salvation Army drug treatment program. According to Alexander, Regan was suffering from an addiction to prescription medication.
Alexander, though, said he did not know if Regan completed the program or if he has absconded.
Cross, meanwhile, was arrested by the North Central Narcotics Task Force last year on two counts of drug trafficking and four other related charges. According to court documents, he sold cocaine and marijuana on numerous occasions to a cooperating source near the Churchill County Youth Softball Fields.
According to the plea agreement, Cross was facing a sentence of 10-25 years in prison, although a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 10 years could be independtly implemented by a judge.
During a pretrial motion hearing on April 30, Shawcroft said Cross bragged to an undercover police agent that Cross could “get any amount of drugs” and had secured a kilogram of cocaine worth an estimated $45,000 from California, according to the transcript.
Cross bailed out of the Churchill County Jail in December 2012.