Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

Earlier this month, Henderson police announced that a woman who’s been accused of embezzling over a half-million dollars over a three year period may be hiding out in Mexico. She’s facing more than thirty counts of theft, conspiracy to commit a crime and violating Nevada possession of stolen property law. Police started looking into this matter when they were informed that money was being transferred from a business account into her personal bank account.

After the suspect was informed about the transfer, she disappeared. Police say the money was deposited into various account via paychecks with different names. Read more about this story at http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/22799132/detail.html.

Nevada possession of stolen property law makes it a criminal offense to intentionally possess property that you should know is stolen. When the property is less than $250 in value, it’s a misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. If the property is $250 to $2,500 in value, it’s a category C felony carrying a one to five year prison sentence and potentially a $10,000 fine. And if the property is $2,500 or more in value, it’s brought as a category B felony with one to ten years in prison and a possible fine of $10,000. Furthermore, anyone convicted of breaking Nevada possession of stolen property law will be mandated to pay restitution.

Last week after the Boulder City constable was arrested for burglary and false documentation, officers executed a search warrant on his home, office and storage areas, where they confiscated eighty-five firearms, badges and drug paraphernalia. Police say the constable admitted to taking firearms from his ex-girlfriend’s house in February but claimed that they belonged to him. The constable has now been charged with burglary while in possession of a firearm, grand larceny of a firearm and with breaking Nevada possession of stolen property law.

The Boulder City constable’s ex-girlfriend reportedly told police that he gave her the firearms and appointed her as reserve constable. He also allegedly gave her a deputy constable badge and ID card, which would allow her to conduct investigations and perform arrests. Law enforcement said that the ex-girlfriend was never in attendance at a Peace Office Standards and Training academy, never earned a certificate as a peace officer, and was never sworn in under oath as a peace officer. The constable is set to be arraigned this morning.

Nevada possession of stolen property law makes it a crime to knowingly possess property that you know or should know is stolen. When the property’s value is less than $250, it’s a misdemeanor and carries up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. If the property’s value is $250 to $2,500, it’s a category C felony, carrying a one to five year prison sentence and perhaps a $10,000 fine. And if the property is valued at $2,500 or more, it’s charged as a category B felony with one to ten years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000. Furthermore, people convicted of breaking Nevada possession of stolen property law will be ordered to pay restitution as well.

To read more about this story, go to http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/15/85-firearms-seized-boulder-city-constable-probe/.

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

The LVMPD are reporting a substantial drop in murder, burglaries, and auto theft in Las Vegas. In addition, there’s been a five-to-six percent drop in robberies, larcenies and aggravated assaults.

Metro Deputy Chief Gary Schofield credits this decrease in crime in part to neighborhood watch groups and similar programs: "We feel that it's been a fantastic effort between us and the community working jointly in the last year or so just to bring crime rates down." He goes on to say that little precautions on everyone’s part make a big difference in the long run: "Something as simple as auto theft [in Las Vegas], that took a joint effort between us, the media, the auto insurance and the citizens out there implementing programs like ‘Stop - Lock Your Car Up.' Something really simple, but has a huge impact.”

These latest statistics come from police crime reports, which are then forwarded to the FBI.

On Thursday, Reno police arrested Malkit Singh, owner of M.S. and Son Market, for attempted possession of stolen property in Nevada after allegedly buying stolen cigarettes from an undercover officer. The cigarettes’ total value was $16,000, but Singh paid only a quarter of that.

The sting was carried out by the Reno and Sparks Police Departments, and Costco provided the cigarettes. After the sting, the police seized over 2,000 bottles of liquor, over $4,000 in cash and a 2004 Chevy Pickup.

Possession of stolen property in Nevada is a felony if the value of the property is $250 or more. In addition to fines and prison time, the court also demands complete restitution.