Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

On Friday, a man allegedly tried to take off all his clothes at the terminal check-in in the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and indecent exposure for undressing. The man later told police his actions were the result of him missing his medication for bi-polar disorder.

In Nevada, people break Las Vegas indecent exposure law (NRS 201.220) by exposing their private parts, especially in a sexually suggestive way, such as flashers. Suspected prostitutes are frequently arrested for indecent exposure if cops find them soliciting by bearing their bodies. A mother breast-feeding her child is not considered indecent exposure in Nevada.

A first offense for breaking Las Vegas indecent exposure law is a gross misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail and/or up to a $2,000 fine. Any subsequent offense for breaking Las Vegas indecent exposure law is a category D felony, punishable by one to four years in prison and maybe a $5,000 fine. People charged with this crime are frequently also charged with open or gross lewdness.

On Wednesday, a seventy-year-old man allegedly crashed his car through the entrance of Laughlin’s Edgewater Hotel-Casino, killing two and injuring seven. He was arrested and charged with two counts of felony reckless driving causing death and was booked into the Laughlin Jail. The suspect had only minor injuries.

Witnesses say the suspect drove past a red light and struck a raised medium before speeding into the casino. The car apparently hit at least nine people and many slot machines before finally stalling near the cashier’s cage. The two fatalities that occurred were the eleventh and twelfth in Las Vegas Metro’s jurisdiction so far in 2010.

The Laughlin Jail, also called the Tucker Holding facility, is where suspects are originally booked if they’re arrested in Laughlin. The Laughlin Jail is very small, and inmates rarely stay there for more than two or three days before either being released or transferred to Clark County Detention Center. As opposed to most jails, Laughlin Jail does not provide uniforms or commissary privileges.

Roger “Black Mamba” Mayweather has been charged with battery-strangulation, battery causing substantial bodily harm and breaking Las Vegas coercion law in Clark County in connection with his alleged attack on a female boxer in August. The victim testified that Mayweather punched her in the ribs and choked her. The former junior welterweight champion pled not guilty last week and is scheduled for trial on June 1.

Las Vegas coercion law makes it unlawful for someone to use or threaten violence on someone with the intent to compel them to do something that the victim has the right not to do. Equally unlawful is forcing someone to abstain from doing something that they have the right to do. It’s also considered coercion to threaten or hurt the victim’s family or property or to simply intimidate by threats of force.

The penalties for breaking Las Vegas coercion law depend on whether the defendant allegedly used physical force or threatened the immediate use of physical force. If there was none, then it’s just a misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. But if there was force or the threat thereof, coercion’s a category B felony, punishable by one to six years imprisonment and maybe a $5,000 fine as well.

The Nevada Education Department reports that an increased number of high school students are depressed and engaging in destructive behavior, including smoking marijuana. Nearly forty percent of the students surveyed said they used pot, which is a significant increase from 2007. Experts surmise that these trends are a result of the recession and the kids’ parents’ stress rubbing off on them.

Marijuana sales law in Nevada makes it a category B felony to sell or grow marijuana in the state. (However, if the amount of marijuana in question is one hundred pounds or more, then trafficking law applies instead of marijuana sales law in Nevada.) The penalties for marijuana sales law in Nevada increases with each successive offense:

For a first offense of selling marijuana in Nevada, the defendant usually receives probation and a suspended sentence, but the judge may order one to six years in Nevada State Prison with an optional fine of up to $20,000. A second offense allows the judge to order two to ten years in prison with an optional fine of up to $20,000. And for a third offense, the defendant faces three to fifteen years in prison with the optional $20,000 fine. These sentences may be increased if the defendant allegedly sold to minors or sold near minors.

On Friday, a twenty-year old man driving a pickup was allegedly speeding and ran a red light near Lamb and the Strip. Witnesses reported to police that he struck another car, causing the death of its driver and passenger. After the pickup driver was released from the hospital, he was arrested for two felony counts of breaking Nevada reckless driving law causing death.

Any person who drives in willful or wanton disregard of the safety of people or property may be charged with breaking Nevada reckless driving law (NRS 484.348). As long as no one gets hurt or killed, it's a misdemeanor punishable by a fine between $250 and $1,000 or up to six months in jail. Subsequent offenses for breaking Nevada reckless driving law carry higher fines but still a maximum six months in jail.

If this alleged reckless driving causes death, it's chargeable as a category B felony, carrying one to six years in prison and a fine between $2,000 and $5,000. (Sentences may be increased if the accident took place in a work zone.) However, if it can be shown that the driver wasn't reckless but instead acted out of simple negligence, then the appropriate charge would be vehicular manslaughter, which is punishable as a misdemeanor.

Fifty-seven year-old Steven Farrell, who was arrested in Mesquite on December ninth on suspicion of murdering his fiancée in Benton County, will be extradited back to Indiana. Farrell faces charges of shooting forty-year-old Christine Craig in front of her sixteen-year-old daughter on what was supposed to be their wedding day. Last week Craig appeared before Clark County District Judge Smith on an Indiana governor's warrant. As expected, the judge signed an order granting extradition.

People arrested in Mesquite usually have their initial court appearance in Mesquite Justice Court. However, those arrested within Mesquite's city limits will have their cases heard in Mesquite Municipal Court, which is in the same building. If the case is a felony, then it may be "bound over" to Clark County District Court in downtown, Las Vegas.

Mesquite Justice Court, which is located at 500 Hillside Drive, Mesquite NV 89027, hears criminal proceedings only every other Wednesday, and it does not handle traffic matters. The hours for Mesquite Justice Court are Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and its phone number is (702) 346-5298. The court does not accept bail money, but you can pay bail at the Mesquite Jail, which shares the same address.

Man Arrested for Bullhead City Car Chase; Clearing Nevada Arrest Warrants

Last month, Bullhead City Police failed to stop Jonathan Louis Gutierrez, the alleged driver in a dangerous car chase. Authorities secured an arrest warrant for unlawful flight from law enforcement, and Las Vegas Metro helped execute it this month. Gutierrez was initially booked in the Laughlin Jail before being transported to Mohave County.

If there’s a warrant out for your arrest, you’ll usually have more success clearing Nevada arrest warrants if you hire private counsel and appear in court with them. Judges tend to be unsympathetic to unrepresented defendants, and good local counsel have a better chance of convincing the judge to grant O.R. release or at least to lower your bail.

One strategy for clearing Nevada arrest warrants is to find instances of police misconduct in your case and to persuade the judge to exclude any incriminating evidence found because of it. The weaker the state’s case becomes, the more amenable the prosecutor will be to negotiating down your charges.

Murder Suspect Has Nevada Bench Warrant; Removing Nevada Bench Warrants

Jason Ivler, the twenty-eight year old suspect in the homicide of Renato Victor Ebarle, Jr., has a bench warrant out of the Justice Court of Canal Township, Nevada. Dated September 9, 2009, the Nevada bench warrant is for failure to appear in court to address various drugs-related offenses. According to Chief of the NBI Counter Terrorism Unit Ricardo Diaz, Ivler was indicted for possession of Flunitrazepam, a sedative drug.

Ivler was arrested last week in Quezon City, and he’ll face murder charges in the Philippines before being deported to the US for the drugs case. The murder victim, killed on November 18, 2009 in Quezon City, was the son of Malacañang official Presidential Chief of Staff Undersecretary Renato Ebarle, Sr. Back in 2004, Ivler was also involved in a fatal car crash that resulted in the death of presidential adviser Nestor Ponce, Jr.

In most cases, removing Nevada bench warrants is a simple process that requires no jail or bail. For misdemeanors, your attorney needs only to appear on your behalf; for felonies, you should appear alongside your attorney. If you have one, removing Nevada bench warrants is important to do as soon as possible so the police no longer have the authority to arrest you on sight.

North Las Vegas police are investigating its first homicide of 2010. Sixty-year-old Willie Henderson was recently discovered shot to death at his home. Neighbor Jamie Cole said, “I'm totally shocked. I'm totally shocked. He (was) a nice, older gentleman, blind, and I can't believe something like this has happened.”

North Las Vegas Police Officer Chrissie Coon said, “There's no reason for investigators to believe that this was just a random home invasion. It is believed that this victim was specifically targeted. When officers arrived, the male was actually already deceased and died from an apparent gunshot wound.” Anyone with any information regarding the case is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

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In December, fifty-six year old Roger Lee Williams was discovered dead in his Las Vegas City Jail cell. His cause of death was unknown, but the Clark County Coroner’s Office then determined that he perished from natural causes. Specifically, he suffered from a dilated cardiomypathy.

Williams was arrested for allegedly soliciting a pedestrian on a roadway before being taken to Las Vegas City Jail on the first of December. Soliciting prostitution in Las Vegas is offering, or agreeing to accept an offer of, sexual favors for money. Soliciting is still considered criminal even if the sex never takes place.

Anyone arrested for soliciting prostitution within the municipal city bounds of Las Vegas will be taken to Las Vegas City Jail. Solicitation is punished the same as prostitution—they’re both misdemeanors, carrying up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. Defendants may also be ordered to attend “John School.”

Last month a murder suspect was arrested in Mesquite, Nevada. He had allegedly shot and killed his fiancée in Indiana on their would-be wedding day. The victim’s teenaged daughter witnessed the shooting.

The suspect fled to Nevada and remained at large until twelve days after the killing. The suspect’s extradition hearing is this week in Clark County District Court. The judge is expected to send him back to Indiana.

The Mesquite Jail is a very small detention center with only twenty beds. People arrested for misdemeanors in Mesquite will be booked at the Mesquite Jail. Otherwise, they may be transferred from the Mesquite Jail to the Clark County Detention Center.

Last week several suspects broke Nevada kidnapping law by abducting a tourist at gunpoint on the Strip, holding him for more than a day, stealing his money and valuables and beating him. According to Lt. Clint Nichols, the tourist was picked at random near the overpass at Flamingo Road. The suspects remain at large.

NRS 200.310 defines Nevada kidnapping law in the first degree as willfully seizing, confining, inveigling, enticing, decoying, abducting, concealing, or carrying away a person with the intent to hold them either for the purpose of ransom or committing sexual assault, extortion, robbery, battery or murder. Nevada kidnapping law in the second degree occurs when the suspect willfully takes a person with the intent to keep them secretly imprisoned within the state, to convey them out of the state, or to hold them against their will.

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