A District Court judge sent one man to jail for a year after he reportedly violated the terms of his probation by attempting to leave the state without permission and sending a letter to Parole and Probation that was soaked in cat urine.
Brian Karl Turner appeared in District Court Friday morning after he was reportedly arrested on a probation violation in April for driving without a valid driver’s license, driving without insurance and driving without proper vehicle registration.
He was originally sentenced to probation in January after he appeared for sentencing on a single charge of intimidating a public officer stemming from an incident that occurred in early 2012. Turner reportedly called a female officer names and pushed her to the ground during an altercation outside his home after he was reportedly involved in a hit-and-run accident.
He was sentenced to one year in the Nye County Detention Center, which was suspended and Turner was placed on probation for a term of three years.
Only four months into his three-year sentence, Turner was arrested attempting to drive to California in his unregistered vehicle.
The conditions for his arrest were also found to be in violation of the rules of his probation, which mandated he have a valid driver’s license before getting back behind the wheel and that he get permission before leaving the state.
Turner’s attorney, Parviz Heshmati, said although his client did violate his probation, it was in an attempt to get in good standing with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles which would not issue him a license until the issue with his suspended license in California had been cleared up.
After hearing from both sides, Judge Kimberly Wanker explained her concerns in regards to reinstating Turner’s probation.
“I don’t know if we all remember this, but I do, this was a hit-and-run and he got stopped by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office and a female deputy smelled alcohol on Mr. Turner’s breath and she was going to take him into custody, but was kind enough to allow him to go get his medications, at which point he turned on her and knocked her to the ground, he called her a number of names, that’s how we got the battery by a prisoner charge,” she said. “He had an episode here in court where I believe he was under the influence of alcohol and he refused testing and in fact I had to place him for 25 days in Nye County Detention.”
The judge further went on to say it was not only the terms concerning his driving that he unsuccessfully completed either.
The judge said a court-ordered letter of apology Turner was required to write to the officer he hit and tried to intimidate arrived at the division of Parole and Probation soaked in what appeared to be cat urine.
“And you know one of the things I ordered Mr. Turner to do was to write a letter of apology to the officer. And I’m sure you’re not aware of this, but the letter came soaked in cat pee,” Wanker told Turner’s attorney. “In fact, Mr. Whirly could not bring that letter to me. It had to be sealed in an evidence bag and then Xeroxed and sent over to me so I could take a look at it.’”
Based on all of the probation violations concerning driving infractions, Turner admitted to during the hearing and her issue with the fact he chose to follow some of the rules, but not all of them, Wanker said she thought it would be best if Turner’s probation was revoked and he be sent to jail to serve one year.