Two defendants learned a hard lesson on Monday, May 6, in Pershing County’s 11th Judicial Court. In Nevada, the long arm of the law reaches to the Black Rock Desert.
Jonathan David Edmonds, from Oregon, and Kristopher Lee Gordon Jaye, from Calif., faced sentencing. Each ran into trouble at Burning Man last summer.
Public Defender Steve Cochran represented Edmonds. Richard Davis, a Reno attorney, defended Jaye.
“Looking at your history, the original charge was a trafficking level offense,” Judge Jim Shirley told Edmonds. “The State has conceded a lot – they went from something that required prison time to something that was discretionary – and now they’re concurrent with a diversion program.”
Diversion helps some defendants avoid felony convictions.
State licensing boards frown on prior felonies. For two to ten years the doors to many good paying jobs slam shut. Even once sealed, the military and other employers can access criminal records.
Judge Shirley tells each applicant the diversion program requires more work than standard probation.
The judge found Edmonds eligible for a 458 diversion program, named for the Nevada Revised Statute that defines eligibility to the course of treatment instead of incarceration.
In addition to the standard conditions of his three-year probation, Edmonds must complete at least 12 months of outpatient substance abuse treatment and undergo random urinalysis testing.
He’ll serve his sentence in his home state under the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision.
But if Edmonds tests positive for alcohol or any controlled substance, including marijuana, he’ll find himself back in Pershing County’s 11th Judicial courtroom.
At midlife, Edmonds has no criminal record other than the Burning Man arrest. His daughter’s straight A report card and a character letter from a state trooper pointed to his integration into society.
Kristopher Lee Gordon Jaye, 37, accumulated a spottier background. He faced sentencing for a Category E felony, possession of a controlled substance.
According to court records, a Texas court convicted the defendant of driving under the influence in 2004.
“Other than that, there’s a handful of misdemeanors – three of them for possession of marijuana,” said Davies. “As the law is now, they wouldn’t exist.”
DDA Todd Banks countered that federal law prohibits marijuana.
“The practical reality is that in the majority of the states marijuana possession is a crime,” he said. “In some of those states, it’s a felony.”
Banks noted that even with his prior drug convictions, Jaye brought controlled substances to Nevada. He asked the court to sentence the defendant to 12 to 32 months in prison, suspended, with three years of probation.
Defense attorney Davies agreed.
“It will send a message about how things work out here,” he said. “When people come from out of state to Burning Man or even just to Nevada, some think this state is a wasteland of morality where drugs, alcohol and prostitution are taken lightly.”
“Instead, what may be probationable or diversionable in Calif.ornia carries a significant mandatory prison term here in Nevada. Mr. Banks could have made Mr. Jaye’s life much more difficult,” he concluded.
Jaye exercised his right of allocution to speak to the judge before sentencing.
“Your Honor, I was given a ticket to Burning Man. I was given some narcotics. I thought it was a free for all and I’d have fun. It was a mistake,” he said.
The judge gave the defendant 12-32 months in prison, suspended, with probation not to exceed five years.
He must complete a substance abuse evaluation within 45 days and follow its recommendations, whether for inpatient or outpatient treatment.
For the term of his probation, Jaye must abstain from alcohol, marijuana and all controlled substances. Like Edmonds, he’ll do his time in his home state. But slip-ups, as monitored by random urinalysis, can return both men to Pershing County’s 11th Judicial court.
