Suspect expected to admit to business break-in

A 45-year-old former security guard, a suspect in more than 20 break-ins in Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe, is expected to plead guilty in District Court to attempted burglary.

Patricia Medel of Carson City waived her preliminary hearing Wednesday and is to appear in District Court on Aug. 14.

Lawyer Tod Young said two counts of burglary will be dismissed without prejudice in a plea agreement with the District Attorney's office.

Medel also faces similar charges in Washoe County.

Investigators believe Medel may be involved in a series of break-ins that began May 5 in Stateline and occurred in Zephyr Cove, Minden and Gardnerville. All the thefts were linked by a similar mode of entry where someone forced a lock and entered a strip of shops, breaking into each one through doors or walls and taking only cash.

In all, 20 separate reports were taken on burglaries, including a break-in at a Topsy Lane restaurant which netted $2,300 cash.

In three charges against Medel, she appeared on videotape in the early morning hours in Genoa on June 9 with a pry bar in her hand.

Deputies identified Medel after a woman matching her description was spotted playing slot machines at a Stateline casino on June 14. Medel was arrested after deputies learned she had a warrant for her arrest out of Reno.

She was the subject of television news reports in April after she was arrested for burglary. According to the Reno Police Department, Medel was videotaped in uniform and driving a marked security company vehicle trying to break into the back of a business.

Officers located her and found a cash register drawer in her company vehicle under her uniform jacket along with a .25 caliber pistol.

-- A 41-year-old man is to appear in District Court Aug. 30 on a charge that he failed to register as a sex offender in Nevada after he was arrested at his girlfriend's Indian Hills mobile home.

Jeffery Gunderson is in custody on $5,000 bail following his July 17 arrest. According to court documents, Gunderson said he had been living at the address in the 3400 block of Basalt for a month.

He told East Fork Judge Jim EnEarl on Wednesday that there were no children at the residence.

According to court documents, he was convicted in Marion County, Ore., in 2003 of two counts of attempt to commit sexual penetration with an object. He was sentenced to 10 years probation which included jail and a fine.

He told EnEarl on Wednesday that he was the biological father of the 9-year-old victim.

Nevada law requires a convicted sex offender to register with authorities within 24 hours of arrival.

Gunderson is considered a tier 1, or low risk, sex offender.

-- James Hope, 43, accused of molesting a 10-year-old Minden girl, waived his right to a preliminary hearing within 15 days Wednesday after his lawyer requested additional time to review evidence.

Hope, sentenced to life in prison in Washington for a similar offense, is to appear Aug. 1 for another hearing.

"I just received discovery this afternoon and I want to review it and talk with the District Attorney's Office," said lawyer Derrick Lopez who was appointed to represent Hope.

Hope is being held without bail in Douglas County Jail.

He is charged in Douglas County with lewdness with a child younger than 14 stemming from an incident which occurred Sept. 19, 2004, while he was awaiting trial in Carson City on allegations he had molested two sisters who were 4 and 6.

He was returned to Douglas County Jail on July 12 from Clallam Bay Corrections Center in Washington where he is serving up to life in prison for felony child molestation in the first degree and gross misdemeanor communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.