Prosecutors are weighing whether to seek the death penalty in the case of a man accused of gunning down a patron at a popular Las Vegas Strip nightclub and wounding two security guards.
When the Clark County Coroner’s Office told Lynne George that her brother Monsignor Patrick Leary, CEO of Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, had died, George wanted answers. And she wanted an autopsy.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson would like to continue serving as the county’s top prosecutor. Wolfson, who was appointed to the post in January 2012, is kicking off his campaign at 11:45 a.m. today at the Smith Center.
Ammar Harris, the man accused of the February shooting on the Las Vegas Strip that left three people dead, has had enough of his court appointed attorneys. Today in Clark County District Court, Special Public Defender David Schieck said his office's relationship with Harris, 27, was marred so badly that Harris was refusing to talk with his attorneys and preparing to sue them in federal court. District Judge Kathleen Delaney agreed to allow counsel to withdraw. The attorneys will hand over the case to lawyers from the Office of Appointed Counsel.
Cases of excessive force by Metro Police, whether in a traffic stop gone awry or a fatal shooting, take their toll in lost lives and lingering physical and emotional trauma suffered by victims. Such instances of police misconduct also are costing taxpayers at an increasing rate in the form of expensive litigation and high-dollar settlements. Since 2011, Metro has paid out at least $5 million to settle civil rights lawsuits filed against it. That figure could grow Monday when officials consider a $1.5 million settlement with the widow of Stanley Gibson, an unarmed veteran who was shot and killed by a Metro officer in December 2011.
Cases of mistaken identity, improper arrest and police getting physical during traffic stops all have resulted in settlements in the past three years. Here’s a look at some cases that led to payouts.
Hundreds of criminals at the Clark County Detention Center are stewing in jail, waiting months after being found guilty of their crimes for judges to finally mete out their punishment.
Attorneys gave their closing statements today to the jury that will decide the fate of the Saudi air force sergeant accused of raping a 13-year-old boy last New Year’s Eve.
Phone scammers have been calling people and telling them they’ve been caught skipping jury duty and will be arrested if they don’t hand over hundreds of dollars, court officials warn.
Sentencing pushed back to April in bird's slaying at Flamingo Wildlife Habitat
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013
The man who decapitated a bird in the Flamingo's Wildlife Habitat won't see prison time as long as he completes an military-style boot camp and probation.
A soft-spoken boy from California testified he was startled when a Saudi airman offered to pay him for sex, but figured instead of having sex, he could trick the Saudi and make off with some marijuana and money.
A controversial practice by the District Attorney’s Office that first came to light in 2009 – paying witnesses to attend pretrial meetings with prosecutors – resurfaced last week in Clark County District Court and could have ramifications in future criminal cases.
Attorneys gave their opening statements today to the jury that will decide the fate of the Saudi air force sergeant accused of raping a 13-year-old boy last New Year’s Eve.
A tourist is suing Boyd Gaming Corp. after a group of employees surrounded her, accused her of being a man trying to use the ladies’ restroom and smirked at her when she told them she was a woman.
Two men accused of beating a limo driver after one of them told the driver he was in the “Mexican Mafia” pleaded not guilty today in Clark County District Court.
Not guilty pleas entered for co-defendants who allegedly conspired to abduct officer and try him for treason
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013
The courtroom drama surrounding the man and woman charged with conspiring to kidnap a random Metro officer continued today at their arraignment in Clark County District Court. The spectacle surrounding the proceedings has defendant Devon Campbell Newman’s attorney weighing whether to file a motion to try the cases separately.
Erin Brockovich-Ellis, the environmental activist whose life was made into an award-winning film starring Julia Roberts, pleaded no contest to a charge of boating while intoxicated.
A preliminary hearing for the man accused of stealing a California Highway Patrol officer’s pickup and subsequently killing the officer and his brother-in-law has been delayed a second time to give his attorneys more time to prepare his defense.
Michael Colbert, a former director of risk management and vice president with Cantor Gaming in Las Vegas, has pleaded guilty to one felony charge of conspiracy for his role in a nationwide illegal sports betting ring that police busted last year.
Jannett Simms held her face in her hands as she waited to hear the verdict for the woman accused of fatally bashing her 14-month-old daughter's head with a blunt object.
Metro officer details five-month undercover operation, plan to abduct and kill policeman
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013
An undercover Metro Police officer testified Thursday that he spent months with a man and woman as they hatched a scheme to abduct a Metro officer so they could try and execute the officer for treason in their own court of law. And after the officer testified, Las Vegas Township Judge Conrad Hafen found enough evidence to send the case against the pair to trial. Defendants David Allen Brutsche, 42, and Devon Campbell Newman, 67, face one count each of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
A deaf Las Vegas woman is suing Bank of America in federal court over claims that it repeatedly denied her requests for an interpreter and then fired her when her performance suffered because of the communication barrier.
The man accused in the grisly killing and rape of a mother and daughter pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges that he beat his girlfriend while she was pregnant with their child.
A woman alleging a nursing assistant raped her in 2008 has settled a civil lawsuit against Centennial Hills Hospital out of court. The case was set to go to trial Monday in Clark County District Court, but a settlement was reached Friday. The woman’s attorney, Neal Hyman said the settlement was confidential.
On the first floor of the Clark County Regional Justice Center, down a winding hallway and behind a locked door are a bucket of knives, freezer bags stuffed with permanent markers and a pile of jewelry.
A doctor was indicted today on a charge of sexually assaulting a 68-year-old female patient. Mane Shah faces one count each of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault and two counts of open or gross lewdness.
Ammar Harris, the man accused in a sensational shooting earlier this year on Las Vegas Boulevard, was found guilty today in an unrelated sexual assault case.
A civil lawsuit against Valley Health Systems and its Centennial Hills Hospital argues former nursing assistant Stevnen Farmer’s past should have startled anyone thinking about hiring him. Farmer also faces criminal charges alleging sexual assault on the woman and others.
A 26-year-old woman who reportedly told police she shot her roommate to keep him from raping her was arraigned today in Las Vegas Township Justice Court and was being held without bail.
The 25-year-old Las Vegas man accused of bashing a corrections officer with a baseball bat was arraigned today in Las Vegas Township Justice Court on charges of battery and assault on protected person and attempted murder with a deadly weapon.
Piece of star witness' testimony doesn't match 911 call
Friday, Sept. 13, 2013
The two men accused of posing as Mormon missionaries and attacking a Las Vegas man and robbing him in his home will continue, despite a discrepancy in an account of the incident related by a reluctant star witness.
The 22-year-old accomplice in a 2010 crime spree was sentenced to 56 years to life on Wednesday for his part in the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of a waitress as well as a deadly shooting.
A Las Vegas man admitted Wednesday that he left the scene of the accident that killed a young Metro Volunteer and won’t face questions in court as to whether he was at fault or impaired at the time.
After more than 20 years on the bench in the Clark County District Court’s family division, Presiding Judge Gloria Sanchez O’Malley has opted to make this term her last.
Coolio contended from the beginning that the domestic violence case against him was “bogus,” and today prosecutors seemed to agree. The Clark County District Attorney’s Office today dropped the misdemeanor domestic battery and coercion charges against the 50-year-old Grammy Award-winning rapper, who is also known as Artis Ivey.
Broadway actress and Strip performer Pia Zadora will have to learn how to control her impulses and have her alcohol use evaluated before authorities dismiss a domestic violence case against her.
The man who alleges two faux Mormon missionaries pistol-whipped, robbed him faced dogged questioning from attorneys on both sides of the case Tuesday when he took the stand.
In trying to demonstrate court has no authority over him, David Brutsche says he neither wants counsel nor to represent himself
Monday, Sept. 9, 2013
A defendant's anti-government views are making it hard for him to acknowledge the court and difficult for the court to deal with his case, where he stands accused of plotting to kidnap Metro Police officers.
A judge tossed all charges, including murder, against a Laotian woman accused of running over her boyfriend with her car last year after a tequila-fueled fight. Sounilak Ouchlaeun, 34, was facing murder and felony driving under the influence charges for backing over Conrado Mendoza with her 2010 Toyota Venza on Nov. 19, 2012, in the driveway of the couple’s Spring Valley home.
He came to Las Vegas to get away, but he didn’t want to get away with a crime. After robbing a U.S. Bank branch last week, Matthew J. Romero called 911 from the bank parking lot to confess.
Ex-boyfriend convicted of trying to arrange hit on woman and her daughter
Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013
The mother of three daughters watched with trepidation Wednesday as the Iranian national was sentenced to prison. Clark County District Judge Kathleen E. DeLaney ordered Rafik Vartanpour to serve six to 15 years in prison, to be served after completion of a 20-year maximum sentence Vartanpour had received in another case earlier this year.
New charges filed today allege the man accused of stealing a California Highway patrolman’s pickup and subsequently killing the officer and his brother-in-law was drunk at the time.
The case against a man charged with killing his girlfriend's 1-year-old continues to stall as the court waits for the autopsy report more than three months after the man's arrest.
It takes time for justice to be served — and, with death-penalty cases, that can mean years. There are currently 65 defendants in Clark County who are awaiting trial on capital charges, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said. Some of the cases are retrials; most are not. At one time, many of those defendants’ names were splashed across headlines and newscasts as the community clamored for more information about the latest grisly crime. Then months, and maybe years, passed.