Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

Earlier this month a middle-aged Las Vegas woman was sentenced after pleading guilty to violating Nevada Involuntary manslaughter law and robbery. She originally faced charges of murder with a deadly weapon after allegedly killing a woman last year during an argument. The judge sentenced her to 5 to 15 years in prison.

Nevada involuntary manslaughter law covers cases where the suspect allegedly killed someone without intent to kill and in the commission of an act that might reasonably result in death--in other words, negligent homicide. Typical involuntary manslaughter situations include handling a loaded gun that accidentally goes off and shoots someone dead or when a child dies from having eaten poison you negligently left out within the child's reach. Involuntary manslaughter is less serious than murder, which requires either intent to kill or reckless homicide.

Common defenses in cases of Nevada involuntary manslaughter law include insanity, self-defense and lack of an unlawful or negligent behavior (blameless accident). It's a category D felony and carries one to four years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. People charged with murder sometimes may plea bargain to involuntary manslaughter instead.

A man has finally been arrested for a 2001 Reno rape case even though the police reportedly had sufficient evidence to suspect him back in 2005. The reason he wasn't charged earlier is because the rape occurred while the man was still a juvenile, and by the time the police were ready to make an arrest no court had jurisdiction over his matter. But last year's Senate Bill 235 remedied the situation, and Washoe County Court now has legal jurisdiction over this cold case. He faces a Nevada preliminary hearing later in August.

A Nevada preliminary hearing is a pretrial proceeding in felony cases. They're like mini-trials where the attorneys can present evidence and cross-examine witnesses, but unlike trials the state only needs to prove by marginal evidence that the state has sufficient reason to press charges. When the state wins a preliminary hearing, the case is then bound over to District Court.

A Nevada preliminary hearing may occur as early as two weeks after the initial arraignment, but more often than not the court schedules them for several months into the case. Prosecutors tend to offer their best plea bargain deals prior to the preliminary hearing, so it's usually in a defendant's best interest to take a plea early. However, sometimes a preliminary hearing brings to light exculpatory evidence that may help the defendant at trial and may serve as a bargaining chip to get a better plea bargain.

For more on this story, go to: http://www.rgj.com/article/20100822/NEWS01/8220354/1321/NEWS

Last week authorities arrested thirty five people with alleged ties to Las Vegas gang crimes as part of Operation Community Shield, a nationwide federal sting. Thirty-two of them face possible deportation, and seven will be charged with crimes. Three of those may face felony charges for re-entry after deportation.

The majority of the arrestees have criminal records. Authorities believe they have ties to nineteen different street gangs. They come from either Mexico, Laos, El Salvador, Honduras, the Philippines, Cuba, and Guatemala.

Over recent years Nevada authorities have cracked down on Las Vegas gang crimes. Several different crimes may be considered gang related, such as assault, carjacking, drug dealing, and graffiti. Many of the people arrested for gang-related crimes are non-citizens and face deportation.

For more on this story, go to: http://www.lvrj.com/news/35-with-ties-to-gangs-arrested-in-las-vegas-area--face-deportation-101176134.html

This week a Clark County district court judge imposed the maximum sentence of eight to twenty years in prison on a woman who pleaded guilty in June to committing the Nevada crime of DUI with death. The victim died after she allegedly drove drunk and struck his Buick with her Jeep on Cheyenne and Rampart. Her BAC was reportedly more than two times the legal limit, and she already had one DUI conviction from 2001.

The Nevada crime of DUI with death makes if a category B felony to proximately cause the death of another person by driving drunk. It's also a felony if the driving results in substantial bodily harm. Common defenses include that the driver had not been drinking until after he/she stopped driving the car, that the breath testing equipment was faulty, that the fatality was not caused by the drunk driving, or that the victim was at more fault than the driver.

The penalties for committing the Nevada crime of DUI with death include 2-20 years in prison and maybe a $2,000-$5,000 fine. If the defendant was transporting a child under fifteen at the time, the judge may consider that when determining the prison time. Anyone convicted of drunk driving will probably be segregated from violent offenders while in prison.

For more info on this story, go to: http://www.lvrj.com/news/woman-sentenced-to-prison-in-drunken-driving-crash-that-killed-las-vegas-man-100789879.html

Last month a Las Vegas home builder faced indictment in federal court for allegedly selling his houses at inflated prices in order to get kickbacks. He's being charged with conspiracy, bank fraud and wire fraud. The defendant is being prosecuted as part of the national initiative Operation Stolen Dream to help curb mortgage fraud.

Mortgage fraud is both a federal and state crime. The Nevada crime of mortgage fraud occurs when a person with intent to defraud knowingly makes a false statement or misrepresentation concerning a material fact or deliberately conceals or fails to disclose a material fact. Because it's an intent crime, a person may not be convicted of it if they didn't deliberately defraud.

Similar to federal law, the Nevada crime of mortgage fraud carries very stiff penalties. The typical sentence for committing the Nevada crime of mortgage fraud, a category C felony, is one to ten years in prison and/or up to $10,000 in fines. However, it's punished as a category B felony if the defendant was found to have engaged in a pattern of mortgage fraud lending, and the punishment is upped to three to twenty years in prison and/or up to $50,000 in fines.

For more on this story, go to: http://www.lvrj.com/news/las-vegas-home-builder-indicted-in-mortgage-fraud-case-99512319.html

Next month a twenty-two year old veteran from the military is set to face trial in Elko for allegedly assaulting an elderly man in a car wash. He was charged with battery with intent to kill as well as the Nevada crime of auto theft. The accused served in Iraq and claims he sustained brain injuries resulting from an explosion.

The Nevada crime of auto theft (also called grand larceny of a motor vehicle) is the intentional stealing or taking away of another person's car. It's still considered auto theft even if you have the key or if it's a rental car you fail to return. Auto-theft is less serious than carjacking, which is the taking (or attempted taking) of a car by physical force or threats.

A typical defense to the Nevada crime of auto theft is that the car belonged to the accused, or that the accused merely borrowed the car with permission. If the car is worth $2,500 or more, grand larceny of a car is a category B felony carrying restitution, a fine of up to $10,000, and one-to-ten years in prison. Otherwise, it's a category C felony carrying the same penalties, except that the maximum prison term is five years.

For more on this story, go to: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/27/trial-date-set-in-northeast-nevada-car-wash-attack/

Yesterday a UNLV basketball player was arraigned on allegations he violated Nevada battery domestic violence law stemming from a June 29 arrest. The twenty-two year old is accused of choking his girlfriend at her Henderson apartment. A preliminary hearing was set for November.

Nevada battery domestic violence law makes it a crime to intentionally use physical force on your significant other, family member or roommate. Common defenses to BDV claims include accident, self-inflicted wounds or false accusations. Penalties for violating Nevada battery domestic violence law depend on whether the suspect has previous BDV convictions, whether the incident involved strangulation, and the severity of the victim's injuries.

Penalties for a first-time misdemeanor BDV case include two days to six months in jail, 48 to 120 hours of community service, $200 to $1,000 in fines (plus a fee), domestic violence counseling for up to a year. But a third time BDV conviction in seven years is automatically a felony, carrying one to five years in prison and maybe a fine of up to $10,000. BDV with strangulation is also punished as a felony even if no harm results and the suspect has no criminal history.

For more on this story go to: http://www.lvrj.com/sports/unlv-basketball-player-willis-arraigned-on-domestic-battery-charge-99858719.html