Superior court judge applicants offer their histories

Monday, March 23, 2009

Derek Carlisle, 43, currently works in the Mohave County Attorney's Office. He has a bachelor's and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with honors.

He interned at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the Travis County Attorney's Office. He was accepted to the Arizona Bar in 1993 and worked for the Maricopa County Superior Court as a bailiff to tax court judge William Schafer until 1994, when he was hired by the Mohave County Attorney's Office.

Carlisle also assisted in rewriting the Mohave County Local Rules of Court in 2002 and 2008.

According to his application, Carlisle has had a few inquires about professional misconduct to the Arizona State Bar. However, the bar filed no charges.

He prosecuted the Robert Benjamin case in 2006. Benjamin shot to death his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. Benjamin accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced to life in prison.

Carlisle also has experience teaching other attorneys and has been a board member of the Kingman Boys and Girls Club. He was also nominated three times for felony prosecutor of the year award from the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys' Advisory Council.

Ron Gilleo, 44, is the current Mohave County Legal Defender. He has a bachelor's of science in Justice Studies from Arizona State University and a juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma.

He served as a detention officer and then a probation intern at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office from 1987 to 1992. He graduated from the academy as the cadet with the highest academic achievement. From 1992 to 1996, he served as a detention officer at the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office, then as an associate intern and attorney at Haralson and Associates from 1995 to 1996 and as a defense attorney intern at the University of Oklahoma's Criminal Defense Clinic in 1995. He then moved to the Mohave County Attorney's Office in 1996 and became the County Legal Defender in 2000.

Gilleo was admitted to the Arizona and Oklahoma State bars in 1996. He resigned from the Oklahoma Bar in 1998.

Gilleo has handled mostly criminal cases since arriving at the CAO in 1996, but while at Haralson and Associates he did handle civil cases such as collections and family law.

He ran for Division IV Judge in 2006 and lost.

Gilleo is also involved in the Kingman Boys and Girls Club as a basketball coach. He also coached basketball and Pop Warner Football for the city of Kingman Parks and Recreation Department, has been a Boy Scout leader and a church youth leader.

Lee Jantzen, 48, is the current Mohave County Superior Court Commissioner. He graduated from Midwestern State University in 1987 with a bachelors of arts and from the University of Wyoming College of Law with a juris doctorate in 1991. While in law school he wrote legislation for the Wyoming Attorney General's Crime Victim Compensation Staff. Some of the legislation written by Jantzen was passed by the Wyoming Legislature.

He was admitted to the Arizona State Bar in 1992 and the Florida Bar in 1999. He has retired from the Florida Bar.

Jantzen worked for the Mohave County Attorney's Office from 1992 to 1994, when he left to become an assistant city attorney for the City of Kingman. He returned to MCAO in 1996 and then left in 1999 to serve as an assistant state attorney for the Florida State Attorney's Office. He returned to MCAO in 2001 and in 2007 became a Superior Court Commissioner.

As commissioner Jantzen has handled a number of criminal as well as juvenile, juvenile drug court and fugitive cases.

Jantzen prosecuted the Ray Carlton case in 2005. Carlton and a 16-year-old girl stabbed and shot a woman to death on U.S. 93. Carlton was sentenced to life in prison.

Jantzen was one of several defendants sued for improper prosecution of an arson case in 2007. The case was dismissed in 2009.

Three charges of misconduct were filed against Jantzen with the Arizona State Bar in 1997, 1998 and 2004. In 1997, a defendant accused Jantzen of conspiring with a judge and defense counsel. In 1998, the mother of sexual assault defendant accused him of inappropriate conduct, and in 2004 a defendant in a stabbing case accused him of misleading the tribunal. Jantzen did not have to respond to the bar for any of the charges.

Jantzen has served as a member of the Board of the Mohave County Bar Association, the Court Appointed Special Advocate board, the Child Fatality Review Team and is a member of Rotary. He also coaches Little League, youth basketball and Teen Court. He was named Prosecutor of the Year in 1998 and 2004.

Thomas Jones, 40, is the only candidate that currently works outside of the county. Jones is a prosecutor for the La Paz County Attorney's Office. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona in 1994. In 1997, he graduated with a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center.

He was admitted to practice law in the Arizona Supreme Court in 1997, in the United States District Court for Arizona in 2000, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in 2001 and the U. S. Supreme Court in 2001.

Jones has worked as a Lake Havasu City Prosecutor, a Yuma County Attorney, had his own practice in Lake Havasu City and is currently the chief deputy criminal attorney for the La Paz County Attorney's Office.

He also has experience in bankruptcy, domestic relations, dependencies, juvenile, estate planning, guardianship, probate, personal injury, contract disputes and civil litigation.

Jones served in the U.S. Air Force, was a member of the Federalist Society, served as the Vice Chair of the Mohave County Bar Association, worked as member of the Volunteer Lawyer Program, served on the board of directors for the Community Legal Services Board and as chairman of the finance committee for the River Cities United Way. He was named Mohave County Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 2006, Volunteer Lawyer Program Attorney of the Year in 2006 and Top 50 Pro Bono Attorneys in Arizona in 2007.

Steven Moss, 43, is a private attorney in Bullhead City. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University with bachelor's degree in 1992 and graduated cum laude with a juris doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan in 1995.

During law school he worked in the Legal Aid of Central Michigan Office.

He was admitted to practice law in the Arizona State Supreme Court in 1995, the U.S. District Court for Arizona in 1997 and the Hualapai Tribal Court in 2000.

He has worked in private practice since 1996. His work has been primarily civil cases involving commercial transactions, contracts, real estate, construction, domestic relations, custody, estate planning and as a private arbitrator.

He recently settled a case for a client who was alleged to have sold a defective MRI to a customer.

He has also served as a school board member for the Colorado River Union High School District, in the U.S. Marine Corps, as a member of the Arizona Bar Association, a member of the Mohave County Bar, the Mohave County and Bullhead City Judicial Selection committees, as a volunteer attorney for Community Legal Services, Wills for Heroes and Seniors, and as a volunteer attorney for the Boys and Girls Club of the Colorado River. He is also a member of the Bullhead City Rotary Club, Bullhead City Meals on Wheels, the Shelter for Youth at Risk, Westcare Safehouse and on the advisory board to the Mohave County Probation Department.

He was named Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 1997 and 2008, received the Outstanding Contribution Award in 2004 and the Pro Bono Service Award in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

He's a volunteer coach for his daughter's soccer team, a member of the Colorado River Republicans and an auxiliary member of the Colorado River Women's Republicans.

John Taylor, 52, is currently a judge in the Kingman/Cerbat Justice Court. He received a bachelor's of arts from Marshall University in 1980 and a juris doctorate from the University of Toledo in 1983. He was admitted to the Ohio State Bar in 1983 and the Arizona State Bar in 1986.

He worked in private practice in Ohio until 1985 and then joined the Mohave County Attorney's Office. In 1999, he became a judge in the Kingman/Cerbat Justice Court.

While working in private practice, Taylor handled civil, criminal, real estate, domestic relations and juvenile cases. As a judge, the majority of his cases have involved traffic or criminal matters.

As a judge, Taylor has had one suit filed against him in federal court. The case was dismissed.

Other complaints have been filed with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, but no disciplinary action has been taken.

In the late 1980s, another defendant filed a complaint against him with the state bar alleging Taylor had violated the terms of plea agreement. The complaint was dismissed.

He was arrested for DUI in 1988; the conviction was later set aside.

He has served as a member of the Board for the Kingman Center for the Performing Arts, a member of the Mohave County Committee on Judicial Education and Training, the Arizona Supreme Court Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, the ASC Committee on Public Access to the Courts and the Mohave County Courts Strategic Planning Committee.

He has also served as a legal advisor to Kingman Aid for Abused People, helped with the Boy Scouts, Pop Warner football and is Vice Chairman of the Kingman Area Meth Coalition.

He was awarded Mohave County Prosecutor of the Year in 1990.

Charlotte Wells, 61, is currently in private practice and represents the Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire District. Wells graduated with a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University in 1969 and a master's degree in education from ASU in 1970. She earned her juris doctorate in 1982 from the University of Arizona.

She was admitted to the Arizona Bar in 1982, the U.S. District Court in Arizona in 1983 and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1983.

Besides NACFD, Wells has worked as an attorney for Mohave Community College, the Mohave County Attorney's Office, the City of Kingman and in private practice.

She was appointed to the Mohave County Superior Court Division I seat in 2002 and served until 2003. Division I handles mostly civil cases in Bullhead City.

She is familiar with civil matters involving taxing districts, public governance, public accounting, public records, public meeting laws, election laws, employment, fire and safety codes, real estate, risk management, personal injury, contract, estate planning, probate, corporate, malpractice, insurance, family, municipal, planning and zoning and criminal laws.

In 1994 and 1995, Wells helped negotiate the renewal of Kingman's Colorado Water Allocation with the U.S. Department of Interior and helped create the Mohave County Water Authority.

In 1996, she helped with the contract for the city's wastewater treatment plant.

In 1996, she defended the city in a lawsuit brought by Mohave Disposal after the city annexed an area into the city limits. The case made its way to the Arizona Supreme Court. Mohave Disposal later dismissed it.

In 1984, she was arrested and convicted for DUI.

Wells served on the State Bar Board of Governors from 2000 to 2002, on the State Bar Member Assistance Committee and the State Bar Public Law Section, the Mohave County Merit Commission, the Mohave County Self-Insured Risk Board and the Mohave County Employee Benefits Trust Board.

She is also a member of the Mohave County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, was a member of the International Municipal Lawyers Association and the Arizona City Attorneys Association.

FBI informant faces break-in charges

Charges in Minnetrista incident may harm accused's credibility in conspiracy trial of anarchists arrested in connection with RNC.

By RANDY FURST, Star Tribune

Last update: February 17, 2009 - 11:14 PM

An undercover FBI informant in a high-profile criminal case in Ramsey County against eight members of an anarchist group faces charges himself for assault and burglary.

Andrew C. Darst, 30, who spied on anarchists planning disruptions at the Republican National Convention in September, attended a Hennepin County District Court hearing on Tuesday for a Jan. 11 incident in Minnetrista in which he allegedly broke into a house and struck two men. He is charged with two felony counts of first- and second-degree burglary as well as fifth-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

The hearing was postponed until March 16 because he had obtained a new lawyer.

Darst was a member of the RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist group that organized disruptive protests outside the convention. Eight of its members face charges in Ramsey County District Court for criminal conspiracy to commit riot.

Bruce Nestor, one of the attorneys representing the eight activists, said that based on FBI documents the prosecution gave to the defense, he "would confirm that Andrew Darst was a confidential informant" working for the FBI inside the Welcoming Committee.

The Ramsey County attorney's office, which is prosecuting the case against the anarchists, declined to talk about Darst. Nestor said, "It is my impression that the government believes he is an important witness."

Darst was involved in the Welcoming Committee's "action faction," which discussed plans for street disruptions, other group members have said. He had more access to internal plans than three undercover operatives for the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.

Darst declined to comment. FBI Agent E.K. Wilson said it is FBI policy "not to comment on informant matters." In court papers, Darst's attorney, Patrick Flanagan, stated that Darst will plead not guilty in the Minnetrista case, claiming self-defense. Flanagan declined to discuss the case or Darst's involvement with the FBI.

Tom Foley, a former Ramsey County attorney, said in an interview that "potentially" such an incident could "undermine his [Darst's] credibility as a witness" at the trial of the anarchist group. "I am certain the defense will want to bring it in and the prosecution will want to keep it out," he said. If Darst testifies that he was law-abiding and did not encourage violence, the defense might use the Minnetrista incident to show "his propensity for violence," said Foley.

The RNC Eight case is assigned to Ramsey District Judge Teresa Warner. Paul Gustafson, a Ramsey County attorney spokesman, said it appears the earliest any of the eight will go to trial is September.

According to court documents, Minnetrista police were dispatched to a home on the 800 block of County Road 19 at 2:18 a.m. on Jan. 11. They found the door of the home had been ripped off its hinges.

A woman told police she was Darst's wife and that she had had an argument with him earlier that night. She went to a party at the home where she got "really drunk," she said. She told police that Darst came to the house, broke down the door, yelled at everyone and knocked one man to the floor.

Police said the man had a cut over his left eye that Darst inflicted. Another man said Darst hit him on the head. Darst "appeared to be full of rage and anger," the police report stated. Another female said Darst pushed her down several times. Darst had a blood-alcohol level of 0.035, well below the DWI impairment limit of 0.08.

The police report said Darst admitted going to the house because "he wasn't comfortable with the people his wife was with there." There is a mug shot of Darst on file at the Hennepin County jail, and though such photos are generally available to the public, a clerk said they were not releasing Darst's photo on instructions from the FBI.

Darst was listed as a potential prosecution witness but never testified in the federal court trial of David G. McKay of Austin, Texas, charged with making Molotov cocktails during the RNC, said Jeff DeGree, McKay's attorney. Earlier this month a mistrial was declared after a Minneapolis jury could not agree on a verdict in McKay's trial.

Reports of undercover operatives for the Ramsey County sheriff indicate that Darst attended various Welcoming Committee meetings. One report, from March 16, 2008, says he urged the committee to block four activists from attending meetings "because he knew one of them had a history of working with cops."

Darst's nickname in the Welcoming Committee was Andy Panda, or Panda. Celia Kutz, 27, a committee member said, "He seemed to be a nice guy and really sensitive."

"He was a person who tried to be involved in as many things as possible," said Andy Fahlstrom, 27, another committee member. He said Darst created "sector maps" for the Welcoming Committee. The maps broke St. Paul into sectors where various groups were to carry out disruptions and confrontations during the RNC.

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Williamson County jailers trained to draw blood in DWI cases

At midnight Wednesday morning, Williamson County jailers got the power to draw blood. It's been nearly two years since the county started drawing blood in felony DWI arrests.

"We're not talking about your first offenders -- these are serious repeat offenders for DWI," said John Foster, Williamson County Sheriff’s Office.

Repeat offenders include the drunk driver who killed Justin Teague, 19, in 2003. His mother, Terri, now fights for victims' rights.

"It infuriates me that people think it's all right to get behind the wheel and drink and drive and that there's no consequences to their actions," said Terri Teague.

Teague supports any method of catching a drunk driver.

Until Wednesday morning, deputies had to wait for nurses at nearby hospitals to draw a blood sample. The policy sometimes meant a long delay and inaccurate blood alcohol readings. Some hospitals in the Austin area have recently refused to perform the blood draws.

"It's become apparent that hospitals really don't want to become involved in these types of blood draws. In respect to that, we went out and we're going to do it ourselves," said Foster.

The county sent three of its EMT jailers through at least four weeks of training to become certified phlebotomists. The jailers -- one for each shift -- will now draw blood from suspected felony drunk drivers directly from the Williamson County Jail infirmary.

Williamson County isn't the first jurisdiction to take emergency rooms out of the equation. Several states, including Arizona and Utah, already have officers drawing blood.

"There's been a gradual erosion of people's rights to privacy," said Jerry Smith, criminal defense lawyer.

Smith believes the new policy is trouble.

"The blood tests themselves are going to come under closer scrutiny in the courtroom procedures now. (The county required) minimal training though for these (jailers) and jail settings are notoriously unsanitary," said Smith.

For victims of drunk drivers like Teague, it's a risk worth taking.

"I would rather see a nurse do it, but I also know that time is of an essence and it needs to be done as soon as possible," said Teague.

The county expects to train more jailers in the future.

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Teen charged with DWI in crash seriously injuring one

A 17-year-old is facing DWI charges and another teen has serious head injuries after a crash in Ontario County. Ontario County Sheriffs said 17-year-old Dylan Jobson from Honeoye was driving on County Road 36 in Canadice around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday when he lost control on the ice-covered road. Jobson’s car went off the road and hit a tree along the passenger side. Jobson suffered cuts to his hands and was taken to F.F. Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua where he was treated and released. Jobson had two passengers and both were taken to Strong Hospital for head injuries. Police said 17-year-old Austin White, from Hemlock, was riding in the front seat. He was not wearing his seatbelt and suffered a serious head injury. Police said he was unconscious when they arrived on scene. He is in the Intensive Care Unit at Strong. Kelly Hoertz, 17 from Honeoye, was riding in the backseat. She had face and head injuries. Police are not sure if she was wearing her seatbelt. Hoertz was taken to F.F. Thompson and then transferred to Strong for treatment of her head injury. Jobson was charged with driving while intoxicated, unsafe speed and driving after 9 p.m. on a DJ license.

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Man indicted on charges of menacing 3 others

CANTON — A man with no known address was indicted Thursday by a St. Lawrence County grand jury on three counts of menacing.

James Austin,54, also was indicted on two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Mr. Austin is accused of threatening to shoot Gerald P. Senecal on Aug. 31 in the town of Edwards, grabbing Michael K. Toohey by the throat while threatening to kill him and his children, and telling Carl F. Sanders, "I am going to count to 10 and you will be dead."

The indictment also alleges Mr. Austin had two 50-round ammunition-feeding devices.

The grand jury also indicted:

Shawn G. Granger,36, of 25262 Bradley St. Road, Watertown, andTerry L. Granger Jr.,41, of 724 Gilbert St., Watertown, on charges of first-degree criminal possession of marijuana. They allegedly had 32 pounds of marijuana in their car Aug. 3 in the town of Waddington.

Shawn Granger served more than five years in state prison for two previous drug convictions, according to the state Department of Correctional Services Web site.

Jody L. Matthews,37, of 261 Talcville Road, Edwards, on charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated, DWI and first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Mr. Matthews was accused of driving on Route 58 in the town of Gouverneur on Sept. 18 with a blood alcohol content of 0.18 percent. A BAC level of 0.08 percent or more is considered proof of intoxication under state law. Aggravated DWI is charged when the BAC is 0.18 percent or more.

He also was charged with DWI as a felony. Mr. Matthews has a previous DWI conviction from Edwards Town Court on May 1, when his license was revoked.

David E. McRobbie,29, Hermon, on charges of DWI as a felony.

Mr. McRobbie reportedly crashed his all-terrain vehicle Aug. 13 on Main Street in Hermon. He has a previous DWI conviction from DeKalb Town Court on June 27, 2006.

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Rehab effort curbs prison population

AUSTIN — Texas' prison population has stopped growing for the time being, thanks in part to changes in corrections policy two years ago that ballooned funding for rehabilitation programs, new statistics revealed Thursday.

That means Texas will not have to consider building new prisons at a time when the economic collapse is pinching the state budget, officials said.

"We put 6,000 treatment beds on line in the past two years ... and this is the initial result: Just what we expected," said Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston, who co-authored legislation mandating the greatly-expanded treatment programs in 2007.

Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, said the statistics show "a dramatic turnaround."

Thursday's testimony by the Legislative Budget Board to the budget-writing Senate Finance Committee marked the first public report card on the new programs, which two years ago were championed by corrections advocates as a step forward and opposed by some prosecutors and police groups as too soft on crime.

"Crime is down, the programs are working," said Michelle Lyons, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice that operates the 112-prison system. "It's been proven before that these types of programs have an impact on recidivism, so these new numbers are no surprise."

The East Texas Treatment Facility in Henderson has a DWI Recovery Program, a six-month initiative that teaches life skills lessons, alternatives to drinking and driving and the medical, lifestyle and stress effects of alcohol. The facility can house up to 500 inmates in its program. In September, 155 inmates graduated from the DWI Recovery Program.

According to the report, the number of convicts in Texas' state prisons is expected to remain steady this year, and then decline slightly the following year — for the first time in several years.

In 2012, however, the prison population could begin increasing again and by 2014 will grow from 155,000 people to almost 158,000, according to the Legislative Budget Board.

Billed at the time as the biggest shift for Texas corrections policy in years, the 2007 changes greatly expanded the capacity of in-prison drug and alcohol-treatment programs, opened new transition treatment centers to help convicts succeed once they got out, expanded counseling and specialized drug-treatment programs and opened new lockups designed especially for habitual drunk drivers.

Total cost was more than $227 million.

Funding is being sought this year for additional treatment beds, which could further reduce the prison population, said state Rep. Jerry Madden, co-author of the plan who at the time was chairman of the House Corrections Committee.

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Driver, 17, charged with DWI after Canadice accident

Two 17-year-old passengers were hospitalized with head and facial injuries and a 17-year-old male driver was charged with driving while intoxicated after a one-vehicle crash about 11:30 Wednesday night in Canadice, Ontario County.

The Ontario County Sheriff's Office reported that a vehicle driven by Dylan M. Jobson, 17, of Honeoye, was traveling south on County Road 36 when Jobson attempted to turn left onto Sunset Drive. Jobson lost control of the vehicle on the icy road, the vehicle traveled off the south shoulder of Sunset Drive, where the passenger side of the vehicle struck a tree.

Sheriff's deputies said that Austin T. White, 17, of Hemlock, a front-seat passenger, suffered a serious head injury and was unconscious at the scene. He was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital by Honeoye-Richmond Ambulance. At 6 this morning, White, who was not wearing a seat belt, was listed in satisfactory condition at Strong.

A rear-seat passenger, Kelly M. Hoertz, 17, of Honeoye, was taken to F.F. Thompson Hospital by Honeoye-Richmond Ambulance for treatment of head and facial injuries. She was later transferred to Strong for treatment of her head injury, and as of 6, was still being treated in the hospital's emergency room. Deputies said it was not known if Hoertz was wearing a seat belt.

Deputies said that Jobson was transported by Naples Ambulance to Thompson Hospital for treatment of hand abrasions. He was treated and released.

In addition to be charged with driving while intoxicated, Jobson was ticketed for driving at an unsafe speed along with driving after 9 p.m. on a DJ license. He was wearing a seat belt, deputies said.

The Honeoye-Richmond and Bristol Fire Departments along with the Ontario and Livingston County Advanced Life Support fly cars assisted at the scene.

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