Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

Last month, a fifty-four year old former chef got a new trial date after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the murder conviction in his first trial over faulty jury instructions. He’s accused of stabbing a man in 1993 in a Circus Circus – Reno hotel room they shared. The accused argued that Nevada self-defense law exonerates him.

The two men reportedly met while on a bus from San Francisco, where they shared cocaine. The fight reportedly started after the accused saw the other man in the room allegedly using his knives to make heroin. The victim was later found in the bathtub with 17 stab wounds.

Nevada self-defense law allows someone in immediate danger of being hurt by someone else to fight back. You’re also allowed to fight back if the aggressor is threatening your family or someone close to you. However, Nevada self-defense law requires that you use no more force than necessary to fend off the attack.

Read more about the story at http://www.rgj.com/article/20100219/NEWS01/2190399/1321/news

Last month, a health care worker was sentenced in a Medicaid fraud case prosecuted by the Nevada Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The worker allegedly wasn’t providing services at patients’ homes when she claimed she had been. In August she pleaded guilty to the gross misdemeanor of failure to maintain adequate records, and she’s ordered to pay $4,400 in restitution and other costs, will be on a three-year probation, and will face a 60-day suspended jail sentence.

The Nevada Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases of Medicaid fraud as well as violations of Nevada elder abuse law. Nevada elder abuse law makes it a crime to inflict pain, injury or mental anguish on someone sixty years old or more. It also outlaws exploiting them, using undue influence to control them, keeping them isolated and neglecting them.

Anyone convicted of physically abusing an older person in Nevada may be charged with a gross misdemeanor for a first offense, carrying up to a year in jail and/or up to $2,000 in fines. Subsequent offenses are category B felonies, punishable by two to six years in prison. But if substantial bodily or mental harm or death results, even a first offense can be brought as a category B felony as well, this time carrying two to twenty years.

Some professions, such as physicians and social workers, are legally required to report suspected cases of violations of Nevada elder abuse law. If they knowingly or willfully neglect to do so, they face misdemeanor charges of up to six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. As long as they acted in good faith, they can’t then be prosecuted for reporting suspected cases of elder abuse that ultimately turn out to be unfounded.

Read more about the health care worker’s case at http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/24/health-worker-gets-probation-medicare-fraud-case/

Two weeks ago, the chief constable of Boulder City was arrested for breaking Nevada DUI law and other traffic matters after allegedly careening his duty-vehicle into a light pole near Utah and Seventh streets. The Boulder City Police Department claims that the constable then left the scene of the crash on foot. He was later arrested in a nearby residence after reportedly failing field sobriety tests.

Nevada DUI law makes it a crime to operate a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It’s automatically illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 or more whether or not you’re operating the vehicle safely. If a cop suspects you of driving under the influence, he/she will pull you over, ask you a series of questions and ask you to perform field sobriety tests such as standing on one foot and walking in a straight line.

Violating Nevada DUI law is a misdemeanor as long as no one gets hurt, and penalties usually include a six-month suspended jail sentence, a victim impact panel, DUI school and fines. However, a third DUI in seven years is charged as a felony. Drunk driving accidents resulting in injury or death may be charged as a felony as well.

Read more about this story at http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/23/boulder-city-official-accused-leaving-scene-after-/

Serious traffic accidents have been steadily declining in Washoe County. “According to the local police department,” explains Reno criminal defense attorney Michael Becker, “Reno traffic fatalities dropped 40% between last year and 2007.” In addition, injury accidents and DUI crashes have significantly decreased in the last two years as well.

Reno criminal defense attorney Michael Becker says that local law enforcement credits this reduction in traffic accidents to the “Three E Concept of Safety:” This includes the Engineering of good roads, the Education police provide to the public via traffic stops and presentations, and traffic law Enforcement. Organizations such as MADD and the Nevada Highway Patrol are contributing to this trend as well.

In addition to traffic-related tragedies becoming less frequent, homicides are also declining. 2009 saw twelve wrongful deaths as compared to twenty-three in 2006. According to Reno criminal defense attorney Michael Becker, the success of Reno police in curbing and solving crimes has a lot to do with community cooperation via the Secret Witness Program, the Neighborhood Advisory Boards, and other programs.

Read more about this story at http://www.rgj.com/article/20100216/OPED04/2160317/1003/CARSON/Michael-Poehlman-Police-citizen-partnership-is-cutting-crime-in-Reno

Last week, Las Vegas police arrested a twenty-one-year old dad for allegedly violating Nevada child abuse law on his infant son. The three-month-old was rushed to a medical center in critical condition with injuries police say are consistent with blunt-force trauma to his abdomen and bite marks. The dad was booked into the CCDC on eight counts of breaking Nevada child abuse law with substantial bodily harm and other charges.

Nevada child abuse law makes it a crime to willfully cause or allow a child to endure unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering. Anyone convicted of willfully abusing a child with substantial bodily injury or mental harm faces two to twenty years in prison. If the child was less than fourteen and the alleged abuse was sexual in nature, the sentence increases to life with the possibility of parole after fifteen years.

If someone is accused of willfully abusing a child without substantial or mental harm in Nevada, the possible penalties depend on if the citizen accused has any previous child abuse convictions. If so, the sentence range is two to fifteen years, but if not, the sentence may be only one to six years. In cases of neglect or endangerment, penalties may be as little as one year to as much as life depending on the age of the child, the nature of the abuse, whether substantial bodily or mental harm occurred, and whether the accused has past convictions.

Read more about this story at http://www.lvrj.com/news/father-accused-of-beating-3-month-old-boy-85145712.html

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled that stalking is no less a crime when the alleged perpetrator had only romantic intentions and didn’t believe that his/her behavior would reasonably cause fear in the object of his/her affections. Justice Jaynee LaVecchia spoke for the Court in State v. Gandhi: “The claimed innocent intention of one with an unrequited love interest in another does not permit an individual to stalk the other with impunity.”

In the New Jersey case, the defendant allegedly sent dozens of graphic and threatening messages to a female and violated three judicial orders. He was eventually convicted of stalking and contempt, which led to this appeal where he claimed that he didn’t know his ardor would frighten the victim.

Nevada stalking law is similar to New Jersey’s in that it requires only that the accused’s behavior would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, intimidated, frightened or harassed. The state does not need to show that the alleged stalker intended to terrorize or frighten.

Breaking Nevada stalking law on a first offense is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. Second and subsequent offenses are chargeable as a gross misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail and/or up to $2,000 in fines. However, if the alleged stalking consisted of threats of bodily harm or death, then it may be charged as a felony, punishable by two to fifteen years in prison and perhaps a $5,000 fine.

Read more about this story at http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202444432807&State_Need_Not_Prove_Stalker_Had_Knowledge_of_the_Fear_He_Inspired

Mid-February, a Reno judge ordered a seventeen-year-old boy and a sixteen-year-old boy to face criminal charges as adults in relation to burglary incidents on December 10th, 2009. They were booked on counts of kidnapping, robbery with a deadly weapon on an elderly woman, burglary, grand larceny of a car, possession of a stolen vehicle, false imprisonment, and with committing the Nevada crime of possession of stolen property.

According to reports, the boys allegedly invaded a seventy-three-year-old woman’s home at 4 a.m. and stole her car, which the police spotted one of them driving later that day. After the arrest, the police linked the boys to a burglary earlier in the night, where a TV was taken. Police also claim they used guns stolen from past burglaries and that one of the boys struck the elderly woman with a rifle.

The Nevada crime of possession of stolen property makes it unlawful for someone to knowingly possess property that they know or should have known is stolen. If the value of the property is less than $250, it may be charged as a misdemeanor and carries up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1000 fine. If the value of the property ranges from $250 up to $2,500, it may be charged as a category C felony and carries a one to five year prison sentence and maybe a $10,000 fine. And for property valuing $2,500 or more, it’s a category B felony carrying one to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. In addition, anyone convicted of the Nevada crime of possession of stolen property will be ordered to pay restitution.

Read more about this story here: http://www.rgj.com/article/20100212/NEWS18/100212031/1321/news

A week and a half ago, eight people convicted of “DUI causing death” in Nevada were sent back to prison when Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto ruled that the Department of Corrections wrongly released them early. Nevada DUI law mandates a minimum two-year prison sentence for “DUI causing death” in Nevada, but these eight people served only part of that time. The Attorney General’s ruling came on the heels of a report that many convicted "DUI with death" offenders have been allowed to serve house arrest too early in their sentence.

Family of the DUI victims are hailing the Nevada DUI law ruling as justice served, while attorneys for the eight rebooked inmates are researching their options to contest the measure. In justifying her decision, Nevada Attorney General Masto said, “Since the article came out, I have reviewed the law, and the advice given by our office was wrong . . . We contacted the [corrections department], and they'll take immediate corrective actions. We want to do what's right for the victims.”

Nevada DUI law makes it a category B felony to cause death in a drunk-driving accident. The penalties include two-to-twenty years imprisonment with an optional $2,000 to $5,000 fine. People convicted of DUI causing death will probably be incarcerated in a minimum security prison and segregated from violent offenders.

Read more about this story at http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20100218/NEWS/100219899/1055&ParentProfile=1045

Last Friday, a twenty-two year old man from Lockwood pleaded not guilty in First Judicial District Court in Virginia City to felony counts of open murder and violating the Nevada crime of battery on a peace officer with substantial bodily harm. These charges stem from the October beating death of a forty-seven year old woman.

Police claim that the accused beat the victim after she denied him a cigarette, starting an altercation outside of the Rainbow Bend Community Center. He then reportedly left the scene and fought with a cop prior to arrest, which led to the charge for the Nevada crime of battery on a peace officer. His trial is set for November.

The Nevada crime of battery on a peace officer is defined as unlawful use of force or violence on a peace officer, which includes policemen, fire department employees, and court judges. If substantial bodily harm occurs, it may be charged as a felony and carries a prison term of two to ten years and/or a fine of up to $10,000. If there’s no substantial harm, it may be charged as a gross misdemeanor, carrying up to a year in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,000.

Read more about this story at http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20100220/NEWS/100219472/0/FRONTPAGE.

A fifty-six year old woman, who faces nearly sixty counts of felony theft and forgery in Las Vegas, was arrested in Great Falls, Montana last week. She’s accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company for which she used to be an executive director. Prosecutors claim she’s admitted to forging business checks and using the company’s credit card to withdraw unauthorized sums to help pay off her debts from gambling.

The Clark County District Attorney is following Nevada extradition law in attempt to bring the former executive back into the state. They originally recommended a bond of $177,000, but the judge lowered it to $10,000. The District Attorney’s office is concerned that it will be more difficult to extradite the former executive if she’s released on bond.

Nevada extradition law is a complicated, potentially drawn out process of trying to bring suspected fugitives back into state to answer their charges here. If someone in another state is arrested for charges in Nevada, Nevada extradition law allows them either to waive extradition and come back or to try to fight the extradition there via a hearing. If they waive extradition, it may take several months for Nevada law enforcement to bring them back.

Read more at http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/84817817.html

Three weeks ago a federal grand jury in Oklahoma City convicted a California man of interstate travel from Nevada to Oklahoma for the purpose of having sexual relations with an eight year old girl as well as possessing child pornography. An informant for the FBI acted as the girl’s mother, which is how he was eventually caught. When he was arrested in Oklahoma, he had a laptop allegedly containing child pornography.

The crime of child pornography possession in Nevada outlaws possessing anything showing or involving children in a sexual manner or that’s meant to appeal to sexual desires. The crime of child pornography possession in Nevada encompasses all possible media that may depict children obscenely, including photographs, videos and audio recordings.

The penalties for the crime of child pornography possession in Nevada are very harsh if the child is under age sixteen. A first offense is charged as a category B felony, carrying one to six years imprisonment. Subsequent offenses are charged as a category A felony, carrying one year to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. The judge may also order fines of up to $5,000.

Yesterday a Wisconsin businessman was arraigned for allegedly not paying back $3.75 million in casino markers to Caesars Palace and the Hard Rock Hotel. His attorney said before the hearing, “All of it is in dispute . . . He never ran up that kind of debt and how he got that much credit is shocking.” The businessman faces up to eighteen years in prison if he's convicted.

Markers are short-term zero-interest loans that casinos lend qualified customers to encourage them to gamble. Nevada casino marker law makes it a crime to not pay back these markers, usually within thirty days. If the marker is for $250 or more, the customer can be charged with a felony, carrying one to four years, up to $5,000 in fines, administrative fees and full restitution. Unpaid markers of less than $250 are prosecuted as misdemeanors, carrying up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine.

Anyone charged with breaking Nevada casino marker law who then flees Nevada may be extradited back into the state to answer charges. If someone accused of breaking Nevada casino marker law has no criminal history, then prosecutors are usually very willing to negotiate a payment plan and to dismiss the case without any jail once restitution has been made. If the state decides not to prosecute a casino marker case, the casinos can sue civilly.

Read more about this case at http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/22/man-enters-plea-over-charges-tied-375m-markers/.