Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

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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Yesterday evening the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Enterprise Area Command hosted the “Our Children and Gangs Information Summit” at the Desert Breeze Community Center. The purpose of this summit was to inform the general public about the reality of gang activity in the state and Nevada gang crime laws.

Specifically, the summit covered the following topics: reporting gang activity, how gang members recruit new members, why youth are attracted to gangs, and signs that someone is becoming involved in a gang. Metro’s Gang Unit also discussed community based anti-gang strategies and the consequences for breaking Nevada gang crime laws.

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The Exchange Club of Mesquite, Nevada, which advocates for the prevention and enforcement of Nevada child abuse, neglect and endangerment laws, is holding the Mesquite Madness IX Charity Action on March 13 at Casa Blanca. Auctioneer David Pierson will orchestrate the event, and funds raised will go towards preventing child abuse and neglect.

Nevada child abuse, neglect and endangerment laws make it a crime to purposely cause or permit a child to endure unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering. Child abuse, neglect and endangerment also includes sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, excessive corporeal punishment and lack of supervision.

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Las Vegas Police are looking for leads in the November assault on sixty-year-old homeless man Paul Schmidt. Police believe he was attempting to stop people from breaking Las Vegas graffiti law when the beating and robbery occurred. Schmidt remains in a coma at UMC.

The penalties for breaking Las Vegas graffiti law vary depending on the damage. If the damage is valued at less than $250, then it’s a misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail, 100 hours of community service and a $400 fine. If the damage ranges from $250 to up to $5000, then it’s a gross misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail, 200 hours of community service and between $750 and $1000 in fines. Beyond that, using graffiti in prohibited areas is chargeable as a class E felony, carrying up to four years in state prison.

Parents of minors convicted of breaking Las Vegas graffiti law are expected to pay any fines that the court impose or, in the alternative, perform community service. Furthermore, these minors may have their license suspended for six months to two years.

Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws filed a new initiative to regulate Nevada marijuana law with the secretary of state's office last week. The organization needs to gather more than 97,000 signatures to have the measure sent to the 2011 Legislature. Their ultimate goal is to have the initiative placed on the 2012 ballot.

The manager of the campaign, David Schwartz, argues that marijuana is actually safer than alcohol and should therefore no longer be prohibited: "We will encourage voters to consider this fact and decide for themselves whether it makes sense to allow adults to use alcohol freely, but punish them if they choose to use a less harmful substance, marijuana." This latest initiative would allow 120 stores statewide to sell marijuana and would require them to pay a $2,500 licensing fee. Meanwhile, there could be only 50 growers, and they'd be required to pay $5,000 in fees.

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Last week the first ever Lake Tahoe DUI Victim Impact Panel took place. This program was created so that Incline Village may comply with new Nevada regulations, which require all defendants convicted of breaking Nevada DUI law to attend a live victim impact panel as part of their sentence. Various victims congregated to share their stories of how people breaking Nevada DUI Law affected their lives forever--the purpose of these victim impact panels is to help persuade defendants in current DUI cases to never drive under the influence again.

About twenty first-time DUI offenders watched as Deborah Hacket recounted how her dad was killed by a drunk driver when she was just four, and that her younger siblings have no memory of him. Then Mary Kay Randall spoke about her son, who was convicted of killing a Kings Beach resident and is now incarcerated, and how it shattered her family and drove her into depression. Justice Alan Tiras said to the panel, “We really want to show you what happens to people that drink and drive, and the ramifications for families, friends and entire communities."

The penalties for breaking Nevada DUI law include attending a victim impact panel as well as fines, DUI School and up to six months in jail (that is usually suspended). DUIs are misdemeanors if no one gets hurt, but a third one in seven years is charged as a felony. Similarly, DUI accidents where someone dies are chargeable as felonies as well.

Many Nevada judicial districts provide drug court programs that attempt to rehabilitate and educate drug offenders instead of simply punishing them with jail, which doesn't treat the root problem anyway. Similarly, Reno Municipal Court recently started a "solicitation court" to help women who've broken Nevada prostitution law by trying to get them off drugs. Chelsie Sutton, who's currently in Washoe County Jail, explained that, "There's a lot of them [prostitutes] that start doing it because they are addicted to drugs and that's the only reason that they are doing it in the first place."

Judge Jim Van Winkle explains that he got the idea for solicitation court from a similar court in Clark County, which has been successful in keeping people convicted of prostitution from becoming repeat offenders: “It was just something I felt it was needed to do something about so we could stop the revolving door problem." Defendants who choose solicitation court submit to frequent drug testing, counseling and court appearances instead of sentencing. The program is partnered with Scarlet Covering, a support group that helps stop women from breaking Nevada prostitution law.

Nevada prostitution law makes it a misdemeanor to offer sex in exchange for money or other property. Penalties include up to six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine and usually John School. The only places prostitution is legal in Nevada are in licensed brothels.

Now that Nevada prostitution law allows counties to permit its licensed brothels to hire male sex workers, industry leaders are speaking out on both sides of the controversy. Shady Lady Ranch brothel owner Bobbi Davis supports the change and wrote to Nye County officials, “I personally feel, as do the many other women who have made contact with me since I started this, that this is a service whose time has come.” But George Flint, lobbyist for the Nevada Brothel Assn., argues that offering gay sex could potentially lead to the downfall of the entire brothel system.

David said she’s received over 100 applications from men hoping to work at her brothel as prostitutes. In an open meeting with Nye County officials, she downplayed any negative effects allowing male brothel prostitutes may have, saying, "It seems the biggest hoopla is a great fear in some people's minds that some kind of homosexual activity might go on. Why panic I don't understand . . . it's not my intent to encourage or promote or to turn my business into a 'gay property.'"

Unless it occurs in a licensed brothel, buying sexual favors for money (or other property) is a misdemeanor under Nevada prostitution law. Just offering to trade sex for money breaks Nevada prostitution law as well, even if the sex never happens. If convicted, defendants face up to six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine as well as “john school.”

Two weeks ago, a twenty-five year old in Churchill County pled guilty to his third DUI in seven years. Normally a third-time DUI is an automatic felony mandating at least a year in prison, but he may be able to avoid prison and a felony conviction altogether if he’s accepted to and successfully completes the Nevada DUI Diversion Program.

The Nevada DUI Diversion Program, which lasts for three to five years, is designed to rehabilitate and educate repeat offenders instead of punishing them. Participants commit themselves to six months of house arrest, counseling, strict supervision, unannounced searches and seizures and breath tests with a Sobrietor, and appearances before a district court judge every two weeks so he/she can monitor their progress. Furthermore, the program costs upwards of $14,000 to cover all the costs and fees, including a substance abuse evaluation and a breath interlock device.

Nevada DUI Diversion Program participants who violate the terms, such as having alcohol, must spend a month in jail for the first offense. But if participants break the rules for a second time, they’re automatically thrown out of the program and sent to prison. And a subsequent DUI offense is two to fifteen years in prison. But if they’re successful in the program, the offense is reduced to a gross misdemeanor.

Recently, a forty-four year old man from Reno was sentenced to life as a habitual criminal for his ninth felony conviction, this time for breaking Nevada burglary law at the Caughlin fitness and tennis club. He has already been to jail on six different occasions. He will have to serve at least ten years before the parole board can consider releasing him. District Attorney Kristin Erickson argued that the defendant is only ever crime-free when he's incarcerated.

Nevada burglary law makes it a crime to enter any home, business or structure with the intent to commit a felony inside, including assault, battery or grand larceny. A jury may convict someone for burglary even if the suspect didn't succeed in committing the felony--all that matters is that he/she had the intent to. Furthermore, a suspect needn't have "broken into" the building to be convicted of burglary.

The penalties for breaking Nevada burglary law in Nevada, a category B felony, include one to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The sentence is increased to two to fifteen years if a deadly weapon is used in furtherance of the burglary. Repeat offenders are ineligible for probation, and non-citizens may be deported for it.

Last week two men allegedly entered the Virgin Valley Pawn Shop, pulled a gun and sprayed one of the employees in the face with pepper spray. A second employee managed to record the suspects' license plate number before they fled the scene. Police pursued the suspects, who crashed their car and escaped on foot before eventually being caught.

Both suspects have been charged with breaking Nevada robbery law with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery with a deadly weapon, evading police and the possession of methamphetamine. One of the men was also charged with coercion with a deadly weapon. Chief Douglas Law expressed his relief that the situation ended without violence: “We were fortunate no one was injured, especially given the circumstances surrounding the armed robbery and pursuit; I want to commend everyone who worked as a team to safely apprehend the suspects.”

Nevada robbery law makes it a felony to take the personal property from the person of another in his presence, against the person's will, and by means of force or fear of injury. (Robbery is another word for mugging.) It carries two to fifteen years in prison, though the sentence may be doubled if a deadly weapon was used in pursuance of it.

Yesterday a man entered the Lloyd D. George U.S. District Courthouse, pulled a shotgun and killed a security officer and injured a deputy U.S. Marshal before being killed himself. It's not believed the shooting was related to organized terrorism, and reports indicate that there have been no threats leading up to this attack. The building was evacuated and remained closed for the remainder of the day.

Nevada Senator Harry Reid, who has an office in the courthouse, said, "The law enforcement personnel who protect the courthouse put their lives at risk every day to keep the people who are inside safe, and I greatly appreciate their service." U.S. Marshals Service Director John F. Clark released a statement as well: "I can receive no news more grim or sobering than word of a line-of-duty death or injury to our U.S. Marshals personnel. ... Rest assured, the brave and immediate actions of these two individuals saved lives by stopping the threat of a reckless and callous gunman who had no regard for who or how many victims were struck down by his senseless actions. They are heroes."

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This New Year's Eve, the Nevada Highway Patrol arrested eighty-two people for breaking Nevada DUI law in Las Vegas, seventy more than state troopers arrested last year. Part of that is contributed to increased numbers of troopers on duty: All the state troopers from the Southern Command in addition to more than three thousand Las Vegas police patrolled the streets this year. As for Reno, only twenty-seven drivers were arrested for breaking Nevada DUI Law, which is less than last year.

Otherwise, this year's celebrations were relatively uneventful, with no reported fatal accidents or homicides anywhere in the state. However, Washoe County reports five arrests for domestic battery and thirty-two people taken into protective custody for inebriation.

Nevada DUI law makes it a crime to drive drunk or high. If no one gets hurt, the driver will probably be charged with a misdemeanor, carrying a six month suspended sentence, fines, DUI School and a victim impact panel. If the DUI resulted in an injury, however, the prosecutor will pursue it as a felony, which carries mandatory prison time.

According to the FBI, violent crimes and robberies decreased in Las Vegas during the first half of 2009 compared to the first half of 2008. However, violent crimes increased around Las Vegas. For examples, instances of people breaking Nevada robbery law jumped 29 points in Henderson, 25 points in North Las Vegas, and 15 points in Reno. And in Reno, aggravated assaults increased 20 percent.

Nevada robbery law is defined as the unlawful taking of personal property from someone else using force or fear of injury. It’s a category B felony, carrying two to fifteen years imprisonment. If a deadly weapon is used, the judge may increase the sentence for Nevada robbery law up to twenty years, but the added time may not exceed the underlying sentence.

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