Car wash cased cleaned

A Florida man was sentenced for his role in a 2008 burglary of a local car wash.

Stephon Thrash, 24, was sentenced Tuesday in District Court to one year in the Churchill County Jail by Judge Robert Estes.

Thrash pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit burglary, a gross misdemeanor, in 2009. The past 50 months, however, Thrash has spent in a Florida prison for similar crimes.

He was also ordered to pay $1,564.98 in extradition fees and $12,864.28 — along with codefendant Lyle Gardner — for the money they stole from Top Gun Car Wash.

Thrash and Gardner, a former standout football player at Churchill County High School, were teammates at Snow College in Utah and were also charged with burglary crimes there.

According to Churchill County District Attorney Art Mallory, the pair stole about $47,000 from car washes in Utah.

Thrash, though, has a lengthy criminal history consisting of nine felony convictions. He told Estes that over the past 50 months he has rediscovered himself, although he held himself accountable for his crimes.

Thrash said he realized Estes would levy a jail sentence, but asked “for a little bit of mercy.” Thrash said all his previous crimes were between the ages of 18 to 20 and that he has to grow up.

Thrash’s attorney, Jacob Sommer, also said his client has had plenty of time “to consider the dumb things he’s done” in the past. Sommer added his client has managed “important changes over the last couple of years.”

In other court news —

An Alaska man pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of providing a false statement to obtain a license, tag or permit, a gross misdemeanor.

Kinh-Kha Viet Mah provided false information on his hunting application in 2010. Subsequently, Mah shot and killed a mountain lion in Nye County, which he forfeited to the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

Mah was sentenced to probation, a $500 fine, a $1,000 donation to NDOW’s Operation Game Thief and is not eligible for a hunting or fishing license for four years.

A Wisconsin man entered a guilty plea Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to commit a felony under the Uniform Controlled Substance Act.

Abimael Roman Espinoza, 24, will be sentenced July 23 and faces one to five years in prison; although, he is eligible for probation.

Espinoza and Guadalupe Ronzon, 20, both of Milwaukee were arrested by the North Central Narcotics Task Force K-9 unit. Authorities discovered 23 pounds of marijuana, which Mallory said had an estimated street value of $50,000.

According to court documents, the couple was driving east from Reno on Interstate-80 when they were pulled over in their blue Honda Ridgeline for speeding. The NHP report stated Espinoza was driving 82 mph in a 75 mph zone.

According to records, the trooper gave Espinoza a ticket, but detected an odor of grease coming from the vehicle. Espinoza reportedly gave the trooper permission to search the vehicle.

Ronzon’s case is still pending.