With her no contest plea accepted by the court last week, both Angelica Nunez-Alcala and Juan Luis Davila are facing prison time for running what was described as an illegal drug superstore from their home in Wendover.
Nunez-Alcala pled no contest to two felony charges, possession with intent to sell and conspiracy, last week in a plea bargain with the Elko County District Attorney.
No contest or in Latin nolo contendere is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of guilty or not guilty. A no-contest plea, while not technically a guilty plea, has the same immediate effect as a guilty plea, and is often offered as a part of a plea bargain.
Unlike a guilty plea, a defendant in a nolo contendere plea may not be required to allocute the charges. This means that a nolo contendere conviction typically may not be used to establish either negligence per se, malice, or whether the acts were committed at all in later civil proceedings related to the same set of facts as the criminal prosecution.
Under sentencing guidelines and depending on the details of the plea bargain Nunez-Alcala could be sentenced from one year to five years in prison and face fines up to $10,000.
Her husband Juan Luis Davila pled guilty in November to one count each of drug trafficking and conspiracy.
The difference between the two suspects is the degree of the felonies. Drug trafficking is a class “B” felony punishable with minimum term of imprisonment in the state prison is not less than 1 year and the maximum term of imprisonment that may be imposed is not more than 20 years, as provided by specific statute. A fine may also be imposed, but this depends upon the particular offense.
Possession with intent to sell is a class “C” felony punishable with imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 5 years. In addition to any other penalty, the court may impose a fine of not more than $10,000, unless a greater fine is authorized or required by statute.
A SWAT team of Elko County Narcotics agents raided a West Wendover home September 14, describing it as a ‘illegal drug super market’ and and arrested the couple. According to the Elko County Narcotics Unit press release agents spent three months investigating the couple.
While the raid was dramatic and the bails were huge, the actual amount of drugs seized were quite small.
After serving the no knock warrant and arresting the pair, agents spent several hours searching the residence and found according to the release: 2.25 ounces of meth, over four ounces of cocaine, more than 12 ounces of marijuana and a small amount of psychedelic mushrooms. Agents also seized over $10,000 in cash and two handguns, one of which was reported stolen recently in Battle Mountain.
According to family member the two did not even own the mobil home they were living in and their newest vehicle was seven years old. Alcala at least also had full time legitimate job. And while her husband was described as a ‘frequent flyer’ in the Elko and West Wendover Court system Alcala, until the September raid, had no criminal record.
The amounts of illicit drugs seized did not however include any amounts agents may have purchased from the couple during the three month investigation.
The affidavit that led to the warrant permitting the raid indicates that police gained. probable cause by an earlier search of the couple’s trash cans published on page two of this edition.
The couple’s young child was also present during the first moments of the raid and was placed in the care of relatives.
Shortly after the arrest Nunez’ bail was slashed from over half a million dollars to just $10,000. The bail reduction allowed the woman to leave jail and reunite with her child and also prompted speculation that she would not serve any hard time in prison.
