John Pugh was convicted of illegal use of a stun gun, a category B felony in a recent Sixth Judicial Court hearing, after pleading no contest to the charge, and was permanently banned from returning to Winnemucca following his 28-72 month prison sentence.
Pugh was staying at the Overland hotel and working as the maintenance person for the property, when he was said to have broke through the door of a woman’s room on March 3, 2018, allegedly attacking her and making threatening statements about her and her family's’ livelihood.
The victim, who was also an employee of the hotel gave a graphic statement on the witness stand about the incident. She said he charged through her locked door after 1 a.m., saying he was going to take her job, home and kids and that she owed him and he was going to teach her a lesson.
The victim said Pugh knocked her down and started kicking her, chased her in the bathroom, shoved her head in the toilet and tazing her, followed by wetting her completely down in the shower and holding a tazer to her chest. The woman was able to escape and ran away to find help.
After the incident, the victim said she started receiving “cryptic threatening messages,” from mutual acquaintances concerning the personal safety of herself and her children.
The victim presented her statement and said she doesn’t think they were considering when negotiating the plea bargain of the case.The victim said she fears for her life if Pugh found her in the future.
The owner of the property, Myrna Gallion, testified regarding the damage to the property and request for restitution to be ordered to pay for the damages incurred during the incident by Pugh.
In her statement she said to have had many “heart-to-heart” discussions with Pugh regarding his lack of people skills, how he deals with situations and concerns with anger and entitlement issues.
Gallian said she started the process of evicting Pugh after the March incident, followed by receiving threatening text messages from him, saying he was going to cut her hands off and that of her son’s, and that it would be bad for her to outlive her son, as he thought she had stolen his things, which she claimed were still in his room.
“I take these threats very personally, not only because I try to run a good business, but I that I think it’s important people feel safe,” said Gallian.
Gallian also said it she was very upset that the original charge of home invasion against Pugh was dropped when he pleaded no contest to the illegal use of a stun gun charge.
“The best thing that could come from this is that John get help for anger issues and learn how to live without his violence, his destruction and intimidation,” said Gallian. “I truly believe that John Pugh will seriously hurt or kill someone, unless his ways are changed. He reacts to situation with brutality and flawed situations and it frightens me to think that his behavior is going to be unleashed on anyone that crosses his path.”
It was also found that Pugh is required to register as a sex offender due to a conviction in 1991, and yet was not registered in Nevada.
After Pugh pleaded no contest to the felony charge, he said it had been 19 years since he had a felony and five since his last misdemeanor.
“I do good for long periods of time when I’m doing mental health and I’m on my medication,” said Pugh. “But I let my medication lapse and I got angry at the world and I’m sorry. I truly am sorry if I scared or hurt anybody. I need help, not prison, your honor.”
When asked what brought him here and what connections he had to Winnemucca, Pugh said he came here after he got out of prison previously because he likes small towns and people treat him like he’s a friend. He said he moved here from North Carolina just over four years ago.
Anthony Gordon represented the state in the case, recommending 28-72 months in prison recommended by the department of parole and probation, considering Pugh’s “extensive criminal history,” including prior felonies.
Pugh’s attorney, Public Defender Matthew Stermitz asked the court to impose sentence on his client, suspend execution and place him on probation. Stermitz said he believed that Pugh was sincerely sorry for what happened.
“What he did probably wasn’t right, but I think in the same sense he might have just been given a pass by the victim who seems to really have dramatized what she sees as a crime that was committed against her,” said Stermitz.
Judge Michael Montero pronounced Pugh guilty of illegal use of a stun gun, a category B felony.
Pugh was ordered to pay $650 in restitution to the Overland hotel for the damages incurred in the incident. He was ordered to pay a $250 public defender fee, $153 for DNA collection and analysis and a $25 administrative assessment fee.
He was sentenced to 28-72 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections, with credit given for time served of 116 days.
Montero further ordered as part of Pugh’s sentence that he was permanently trespassed from Winnemucca, meaning that he is not allowed to ever come back. Montero mentioned Pugh’s lack of connection to the community other than a mentioned cousin and having not had a stable job in the community as part of his explanation of the order.
“If you come back, you will be in contempt of the court and subject to further sentencing,” said Montero.
