Six arrested in alleged Boulder City drug, gun trafficking ring

By Dave Toplikar

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 | 1:21 p.m.

Six people, including five from the same family, have been arrested and charged in connection with a drug and stolen gun trafficking ring in Boulder City.

The six suspects each face various charges for their parts in the ring, which included violations for selling controlled substances and firearms.

Investigators seized methamphetamine and several firearms as a result of the investigation, according to Boulder City Detective Sgt. John Glenn.

Those arrested were Chester Willis Gabriel Jr., 43; his wife, Phyllisa Roxanna Smithling, 44; their daughter, Carmen Roxannah Gabriel, 23; and two sons, Chester Willis Gabriel III, 22, and Anthony Lee Gabriel, 20. A woman who is not related, Cindy Lynn Homer, 35, also was arrested.

The five family members were arrested on April 18. Homer was arrested Thursday and had her first court appearance Tuesday before Boulder City Justice Court Judge Victor Miller.

Miller has ordered most of the remaining defendants to be held on bond in the Clark County Detention Center. They will be arraigned at 9:30 a.m. May 21 and face the following charges:

• Smithling: one count of selling Schedule I or II drugs, one count of conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substance Act and one count of trafficking Schedule I drugs.

• Carmen Gabriel: four counts of buying, possessing or receiving stolen property; one count of conspiracy to buy, possess or receive stolen property; one count of conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substance Act; and one count of possession to sell Schedule I or II drugs.

• Chester Gabriel III: five counts of buying, possessing or receiving stolen property; and one count of conspiracy to buy, possess or receive stolen property.

• Anthony Gabriel: one count of conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substance Act, one count of selling Schedule I or II drugs and one count of trafficking Schedule I drugs.

• Homer: six counts of receiving or possessing stolen property, five counts of theft of property in a burglary and three counts of theft of weapons.

Chester Gabriel Jr., who was arrested in California, is finishing an outstanding sentence for an unrelated matter in Riverside, Calif. He is expected to be extradited to Nevada on July 16 to face similar drug and gun charges.

The defendants who were charged with narcotics offenses could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and maximum fine of $50,000 on each charge. Those defendants charged with firearms violations face a maximum penalty of six years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

All of the defendants were residents of Boulder City at one time, although three of them had moved to California at the time of their arrests.

Glenn said the case was investigated over several months by the Boulder City Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives-Violent Crime Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration-HIDTA Task Force Special Investigations Unit and the U.S. Secret Service.

Glenn said five guns, including rifles and handguns, were recovered along with the methamphetamine. Investigators have not yet recovered one more gun, he said.