Las Vegas lawyer Alexis Plunkett gets probation for jail cellphones

Suspended Las Vegas attorney Alexis Plunkett was given three years’ probation Tuesday for allowing clients to use cellphones in jail.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, the 38-year-old pleaded guilty in March to one count of possession of a telecommunication device by a prisoner.

Plunkett declined an opportunity to speak to District Judge Michael Villani on Tuesday before he handed down her sentence.

“Judge, I’ve never let one of my own clients speak, so I’m going take my own advice,” she said.

Her attorney, Bret Whipple, wrote in a sentencing memo that Plunkett planned to return to Ohio, where she was raised, and work in the service industry. He called Plunkett “a remarkable individual” and “an incredible attorney and a really good person.”

“This is the most misunderstood case I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Whipple said.

Last month, the Nevada Supreme Court suspended Plunkett’s law license. She has agreed to never again practice law in the state.

Plunkett has since filed court papers seeking to change her name, citing an abusive ex-boyfriend and media coverage of the charges against her.

The felony stems from jail visits Plunkett made to her former client Rogelio Estrada and then-boyfriend Andrew Arevalo, who in 2014 was shot and wounded by a High Desert State Prison guard.

Arevalo is awaiting trial on felony drug and weapons charges. Plunkett represented Arevalo in his lawsuit against the Nevada Department of Corrections in connection with the shooting that left another man dead.

Villani initially dismissed a 14-count indictment against Plunkett, but the Nevada Supreme Court later reversed that decision.

Plunkett has said she was in a relationship with Arevalo, who also was indicted, and that they used the cellphone to make calls regarding bail, which she believed they were authorized to do.

Prosecutors ultimately dropped separate charges of bribing or intimidating a witness, a felony, and dissuading or preventing a person from testifying, a gross misdemeanor, against Plunkett as part of her plea agreement.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.