Chase suspect gets year in jail

A 25-year-old Carson City ex-felon who missed two court appearances was sentenced Monday to a year in Douglas County Jail for his part in a March 12 high-speed chase through Indian Hills with Washoe Tribal Police.

District Judge Michael Gibbons gave Fidel Fuentes credit for 36 days in custody but refused to count six months he spent in jail in Carson City for a probation violation in connection with the Douglas County arrest.

"You're not a good candidate for probation," Gibbons said.

"You have a prior felony, you got probation which you didn't finish. You have a prior weapons offense, you did not appear to meet with your probation officer as required. That militates against any leniency."

Gibbons issued a bench warrant when Fuentes failed to appear Sept. 24 for sentencing on a gross misdemeanor, conspiracy to possess stolen property.

Fuentes' lawyer, Derrick Lopez, said his client thought the date was Oct. 24.

Even though Fuentes said he was living in Las Vegas, he was arrested Oct. 6 in Carson City during a traffic stop.

Lopez said Fuentes claimed to have notified a woman he could not identify that he wouldn't be able to meet with a probation officer in Carson City for a presentence report.

Fuentes was a passenger in a vehicle reportedly driven by Robert Michael Hernandez, 20, of Carson City, which rammed a tribal police cruiser on March 12 following an early morning chase from the Stewart Indian Colony to Indian Hills.

Officers believed Fuentes threw a stolen handgun from the car before he and Hernandez fled the scene.

Fuentes was arrested when deputies found him in a backyard in the neighborhood where the altercation took place.

The weapon, reported missing by a Carson City resident, was found on a nearby cul-de-sac.

Hernandez was arrested April 29 in Palm Springs, Calif., on several new charges and the Douglas County arrest warrant. He reportedly is serving 16 months in prison in California.

Prosecutor Michael McCormick told Gibbons on Monday that Hernandez will face charges in Douglas County when he completes his California sentence.

Hernandez is the stepson of Carson City Mayor Marv Teixeira.

"It's Mr. Fuentes' position that he didn't toss out the gun," Lopez said Monday. "He did run from the officers which, at most, is obstructing and a six months sentence which he served in Carson City.

McCormick said a female passenger who testified at Fuentes' preliminary hearing in justice court "probably committed perjury on the stand" and would not answer who tossed the gun.

"We believe she's a little gangbanger along with this defendant and would not violate the code of honor. Her testimony from her initial interview through court change dramatically," McCormick said.

Fuentes made no comment during the sentencing.