Voter fraud arraignment hearing continued after defendant fails second court-ordered drug test

An arraignment hearing for the woman arrested on voter fraud charges was again delayed until Dec. 2 after she tested positive for prescription drugs for the second time.

Tina Marie Parks faces numerous felony charges include two counts of attempted intimidation of voters, one count of intimidation of voters, three counts of acts concerning registration of voters, one count of prohibited acts of employees of voter registration agencies or persons assisting voters and four counts of perjury.

Defense attorney Nathan Gent is representing Parks, who was initially arrested July 13 on a failure to appear warrant.

Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Kim Wanker first continued Parks’ Sept. 23 arraignment hearing after results of a drug the test came back positive for prescription drugs.

During the Sept. 23 hearing, Gent presented Parks’ prescription bottles of the drugs to Wanker as proof his client was taking the drugs on doctor’s orders.

Wanker instructed Parks to obtain a printout from CVS Pharmacy for further verification of the prescriptions.

Wanker’s reasoning for both continuances was to ensure Parks was of sound mind to proceed with the hearing.

Then, during an Oct. 21 arraignment hearing, Parks was ordered to submit to another drug test, where she again tested positive for the same prescription drugs, along with faint traces of alcohol, in violation of the conditions of her release.

As a result, Parks was again warned by the court to stay away from alcohol, illicit drugs and avoid abusing her prescription medications.

Additionally, the judge informed the defense and prosecution she could not go forward with the hearing while expressing concerns with a proposed written guilty plea agreement between both sides.

Part of her concern hinged on both parties requesting a six-month continuance of the arraignment hearing.

Wanker also expressed her frustration with the state Attorney General’s office, stating she would like Chief Deputy Attorney General Samuel Kern to appear in place of prosecutor Katrina Samuels, however, according to court documents she did not indicate why.

Parks was placed into custody by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office on a failure to appear warrant and formally charged in July with 11 preliminary felony counts related to violating election laws.

State Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske said in July that members of the Election Integrity Task Force arrested Parks in accordance with an arrest warrant issued by Pahrump Justice of the Peace Kent Jasperson.

According to the criminal complaint, Parks, who was working with Engage Nevada, allegedly marked Republican or nonpartisan party affiliation on three registration forms of electors.

In turn, at least one person was unable to vote in the June 14, Democratic primary election, according to the charges.

Engage Nevada is a conservative advocacy organization focused on registering voters in Nevada.

The complaint also states that Parks, who has one or more felony convictions, signed four registration forms herself, which included the statement that she was not “laboring under any felony conviction or other loss of civil rights that would make it unlawful” for her to vote.

According to the criminal complaint, Parks allegedly has not had her right to vote restored.

This case was investigated by the Nevada Secretary of State’s criminal investigators with the assistance of the FBI. Both agencies are members of the Election Integrity Task Force.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes

Reporter Mick Akers contributed to this story