Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

Earlier this month a Reno man was arrested for allegedly making sexual offers over Facebook to a 14 year old girl. He reportedly used another person's account to contact the girl. He was taken to the Washoe County Detention Facility on $18,000 bail and is facing charges for Using Technology to Lure Children, Violation of a Protective Order, and Stalking-Use of the Internet.

Nevada stalking law makes it a crime to behave in a way that causes a reasonable person to fear for the safety of themselves, their family or their housemates. People are often falsely accused of violating Nevada stalking law because the "victims" are out to seek revenge or else they wildly misconstrue the person's behavior as harassing. Typical examples of stalking behavior include following someone, contacting them too frequently, or loitering outside where they live.

The penalties for violating Nevada stalking law depend on the circumstances. For stalking with the Internet like the Reno man is accused of, it's charged as a category C felony and carries 1 to 5 years in prison and maybe a $10,000 fine. If death or substantial bodily harm occurs, it's a category B felony carrying 2 to 15 years in prison and maybe a $5,000 fine. Otherwise, stalking is only a misdemeanor with penalties of up to $1,000 in fines and/or up to 6 months in prison (subsequent offenses are gross misdemeanors carrying up to $2,000 in fines and/or up to 1 year in jail).

For more on this story, go to http://www.mynews4.com/story.php?id=19929&n=122.

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

Last Friday, a jury in Washoe County District Court convicted a forty-nine year old man of breaking Nevada stalking law as well as attempted murder, criminal anarchy and shooting into occupied homes. These charges resulted from an alleged six-year-long “domestic terror spree,” where the suspect supposedly tried to kill a female janitor.

The suspect was originally sentenced to forty-five years on these charges back in 2007. However, the Nevada Supreme Court overturned his conviction, which led to this retrial. He will be sentenced again in May.

Nevada stalking law makes it a crime to willfully engage in any kind of conduct that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, intimidated, frightened or harassed. A first offense for breaking Nevada stalking law is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine, and a subsequent offense is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and/or up to $2,000 in fines. If the stalking also includes threats of bodily harm or death, it’s charged as a felony, carrying prison time of two to fifteen years and maybe a $5,000 fine.