Joel Kenneth Ausbie, 53, of Fontana, California, was sentenced Thursday to 151 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit arson and extortion, capping a violent campaign of terror targeting his estranged common law wife’s family. The conviction follows a three-day jury trial in Las Vegas where evidence revealed a calculated plot involving gunfire, firebombs, and death threats—all orchestrated to force repayment of money Ausbie believed was his.
According to the superseding indictment, Ausbie recruited Joseph A. Strickland to open fire on the occupied home of his wife’s parents on October 20, 2015. At approximately 1:00 a.m., Strickland discharged a revolver six times into the residence. He then hurled vice grips through a window with a handwritten note: “…This is a warning! Ima touch everything you love in a vicious way! Return that money or continue to rest easy with your families’ blood on you hands… Give me my money! Ima kill kill kill and kill.”
When the shooting failed to produce payment, Ausbie escalated. Along with co-defendant Calvin Robinson, 42, also of Fontana, he sent threatening text messages to the parents, warning they would be killed if the money wasn’t returned. Ausbie then directed Strickland to torch the family’s business—Las Vegas Kettle Corn & Special Events, LLC—in Henderson. Robinson provided directions and a second threatening note to be taped to the front window: “I still don’t have my money. This is the last warning! Next time someone is going to be dead.”
On October 30, 2015, Strickland followed through, setting a fire that caused extensive damage, forcing the business to permanently close. Ausbie wasn’t finished—he moved to have the family’s second location, at the Downtown Container Park on Fremont Street, burned down as well. But federal agents moved in before he could pay for the second arson, halting the deadly plan just in time.
Strickland, 35, later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Robinson, who helped coordinate the threats and arson logistics, also pleaded guilty and received a 108-month sentence. Both testified against Ausbie during the trial. U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan presided over the proceedings, condemning Ausbie’s actions as “a brutal, unrelenting assault on innocent victims who simply wanted to live in peace.”
The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa Cartier-Giroux and Cristina D. Silva led the prosecution. Authorities urge anyone with information about suspicious arson activity to contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at 1-888-ATF-FIRE (283-3473) or visit www.reportit.com.
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Key Facts
- State: Nevada
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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