Jaime Albarran -- Call 911 to report whereabouts. Advertisement

Murder suspect still at large

The Nye County Sheriff's Office is still on the lookout for Jaime Albarran.

The Pahrump man was caught on videotape entering the DC Travel Center convenience store on the corner of Highway 160 and Mesquite Avenue Dec. 28, and exiting less than two minutes later after allegedly shooting and killing clerk Valentyna Krum.

Report any leads by calling 911. Albarran is considered armed and dangerous.

Deja vu: Cristalo to jail

Monday, Guerino Cristalo was taken out of the courtroom to begin a one-year stay in the Pahrump jail.

In July, Cristalo pleaded guilty to methamphetamine drug-trafficking charges and on Nov. 17, Judge Robert Lane sentenced him to serve 10 to 25 years in prison, plus another 12 to 30 months for trafficking in prescription drugs to be served concurrently.

The judge then suspended the long prison sentences and remanded Cristalo to immediately begin a term of one year in the county jail.

But Cristalo never served any time. No explanation was forthcoming from the district attorney's office or during Cristalo's court appearances for multiple status checks since mid-November. It appeared the defendant was living in Pahrump on his own recognizance.

However, on Monday, after conferring in chambers with Chief Deputy District Attorney Kirk Vitto and Cristalo's attorney, Art Wermeister, Lane went on the record to explain that in November the state had requested Cristalo's sentence be held in abeyance "due to certain things."

One of those "things" hails back to March and the plea agreement Cristalo reached with the state that he must render "substantial assistance" to any law enforcement agency in the nation.

Monday, Vitto said Cristalo had not cooperated fully with the Nye County Sheriff's Office.

As Lane points out to each defendant who appears before him for sentencing, no matter what negotiations are made, the judge has the final say in sentencing. In Cristalo's case, Lane ruled in November the defendant's actions were serious enough to warrant one year in jail, rather than the one month negotiated between Cristalo and the district attorney's office.

Although it was not mentioned in Monday's courtroom session, at 71 years of age, Cristalo is reportedly in very poor health. In fact, during his previous court appearance, Cristalo told the court, "I am dying, your honor."

When the bailiff took Cristalo into custody, he carried with him a bag full of medications.