Agbasi faces another trial on other charges in unrelated case
By Jessica Powell
The Humboldt Sun
WINNEMUCCA - Obinna Agbasi, 41, of Las Vegas, was sentenced to 36 months probation in Sixth Judicial District Court for commission of a fraudulent act, a category B felony, related to a gaming violation in a local casino.
Agbasi was found guilty of the crime by a jury on March 28. The charge potentially brings a penalty of 12 to 36 months in prison.
The details of the offense involve an investigation by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in which video surveillance shows Agbasi "placing a five dollar bet after he acknowledged the outcome of the game," according to court documents.
Agbasi's attorney, Shelly O'Neill, said last week that she thinks the course of the case has been excessive for a first gaming offense involving $5 and said, "there is no other time when a person with his history would go to trial with this."
O'Neill argued for a one year underlying sentence with one year probation. She also asked that several conditions be struck from the terms of probation. The first was that Agbasi not be allowed inside a casino. O'Neill said that there are many other reasons to be inside a casino aside from gambling and that he should not be prohibited from things like dining or seeing shows, as long as he adheres to the no gambling condition.
O'Neill also said she had an issue with the condition that Agbasi find employment or complete community service.
She told the court that Agbasi is a new father of an infant with health problems, and his wife, being the primary source of income, has returned to work after a two-month maternity leave.
She said that with Agbasi's skills and training, any job he could potentially get would most likely not cover the costs of care for a sick newborn.
Judge Richard Wagner replied to O'Neill's argument about the seriousness of the crime and said that there is a reason gaming laws are as strict as they are: to prevent cheating.
"It's not the amount that's involved, it's the type of crime and that's cheating..."
Agbasi told Wagner that he felt his case was unlike others in terms of the extent of punishment for the crime.
"It seems as though my case is different," he said. "Over $6,000 bail for a five dollar offense? It doesn't make sense... I'm hoping that you temper justice with mercy."
In addition to his probation sentence, Wagner ordered that Agbasi pay several fines and abstain from alcohol and gambling.
Agbasi was also in court last week for a pre-trial conference for a case involving luring minor girls. O'Neill asked for the trial to be continued and a continuance was granted. The trial, which was originally scheduled for June 3 will now take place Aug. 12-16, although O'Neill tried to get it pushed even further to October.
The main reason O'Neill cited for her request was her client's need for time to acquire more funds for costs associated with the trial.
Deputy District Attorney Roger Whomes opposed the continuance, listing several reasons, one of which being the psychological welfare of the young girls who have prepared to testify at the trial.
"(O'Neill) is more concerned with getting paid than the psychological preparations that these young girls have made," he said. "There is no reason to continue the luring case."
O'Neill replied saying that, "these girls waited six to eight months to report this initially so I don't think that six more weeks will be that traumatic for them."
After hearing arguments from both sides for and against the continuance, Wagner's decision fell somewhere in between with a new trial date in August. He also mentioned a conflict of his own during the original June dates (a Judicial Ethics Committee that he was unable to get out of).
O'Neill also told the court of her intent to file a motion for change of venue, but Wagner said that could not be decided upon until the jury selection process begins.
The charges against Agbasi in the luring case are two counts of luring a child under 16 years of age, a category B felony; two counts of attempted kidnapping in the first degree, a category B felony; and two counts of false imprisonment, a gross misdemeanor. The charges arise from incidents that occurred between August 2011 and December 2011.
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