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

Roger “Black Mamba” Mayweather has been charged with battery-strangulation, battery causing substantial bodily harm and breaking Las Vegas coercion law in Clark County in connection with his alleged attack on a female boxer in August. The victim testified that Mayweather punched her in the ribs and choked her. The former junior welterweight champion pled not guilty last week and is scheduled for trial on June 1.

Las Vegas coercion law makes it unlawful for someone to use or threaten violence on someone with the intent to compel them to do something that the victim has the right not to do. Equally unlawful is forcing someone to abstain from doing something that they have the right to do. It’s also considered coercion to threaten or hurt the victim’s family or property or to simply intimidate by threats of force.

The penalties for breaking Las Vegas coercion law depend on whether the defendant allegedly used physical force or threatened the immediate use of physical force. If there was none, then it’s just a misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. But if there was force or the threat thereof, coercion’s a category B felony, punishable by one to six years imprisonment and maybe a $5,000 fine as well.

Fifty-seven year-old Steven Farrell, who was arrested in Mesquite on December ninth on suspicion of murdering his fiancée in Benton County, will be extradited back to Indiana. Farrell faces charges of shooting forty-year-old Christine Craig in front of her sixteen-year-old daughter on what was supposed to be their wedding day. Last week Craig appeared before Clark County District Judge Smith on an Indiana governor's warrant. As expected, the judge signed an order granting extradition.

People arrested in Mesquite usually have their initial court appearance in Mesquite Justice Court. However, those arrested within Mesquite's city limits will have their cases heard in Mesquite Municipal Court, which is in the same building. If the case is a felony, then it may be "bound over" to Clark County District Court in downtown, Las Vegas.

Mesquite Justice Court, which is located at 500 Hillside Drive, Mesquite NV 89027, hears criminal proceedings only every other Wednesday, and it does not handle traffic matters. The hours for Mesquite Justice Court are Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and its phone number is (702) 346-5298. The court does not accept bail money, but you can pay bail at the Mesquite Jail, which shares the same address.

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.

Continue reading "North Las Vegas Has First Homicide in 2010" »

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.

Rachel Jessee, who starred in “Scarlett and her Seductive Ladies of Magic” at the Riviera, was arrested on a misdemeanor count of breaking Las Vegas domestic battery law. The twenty-one year old allegedly assaulted her sixty-seven year old boyfriend two weeks ago. The police report states that she grabbed him by the ear after an argument and punched him in his right eye.

Las Vegas domestic battery law defines domestic violence as the infliction of a battery, assault, coercion, sexual assault or course of harassment on a spouse, parent, roommate or romantic partners (past or present). Many people are falsely accused of domestic battery by vengeful significant others, or else they’re in fact the victims in the skirmish and acted only in self-defense. Non-citizens charged with DV have to be careful to choose a lawyer familiar with immigration law because it’s a deportable offense.

Continue reading "Las Vegas Magic Show Star Charged with DV" »

Last year, Xiao Ye Bai allegedly stabbed Wen Jun “James” Li in a karaoke bar on Jones Blvd. when he refused to pay Bai $10,000. A Chinese immigrant who may have gang ties in California, Bai is also charged with murder in San Gabriel, CA, where he allegedly killed a man and wounded another in a restaurant in 2008. This week, the death penalty committee of the Clark County District Attorney’s office is reviewing Bai’s case to determine whether Nevada will pursue capital punishment.

Nevada homicide law defines first-degree murder as premeditated killing or killing that occurs during the perpetration of a felony. Second-degree murder is all other kinds of murder (such as Russian roulette). Nevada homicide law permits the death penalty only for first-degree murder convictions.

Continue reading "Clark County DA Death Penalty Panel to Review Karaoke Killing Case" »

Three suspects, ages seventeen to twenty, have been arrested for allegedly murdering Las Vegas police officer Trevor Nettleton last week. Authorities believe the incident was an attempted robbery but where the suspects came away with nothing.

The suspects will probably be charged with Nevada murder with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery with a deadly weapon (NRS 200.380). Police also suggest that the gang enhancement charge be added. They’re currently in custody at the North Las Vegas detention center.

NRS 200.380 defines robbery as the unlawful taking of personal property from someone else by means of force or fear of injury. NRS 200.380 is a category B felony, punishable by two to fifteen years imprisonment. For the deadly weapon enhancement, the judge can increase the sentence by up to twenty years as long as the added time does not exceed the underlying sentence.

Conan Pope, who killed his abusive dad when he was fifteen, appeared before the state Pardons Board in the hopes for a pardon that would allow him to join the military. Although he served six years for breaking Nevada voluntary manslaughter law, he hasn’t been able to get a decent job due to his criminal record. Although two Nevada Supreme Court justices took his side, the Board denied his request for a pardon.

Working against Pope’s favor are his past heroin abuse as well as the Board’s determination not to send a message that it’s okay for children to kill abusive parents. Deputy District Attorney Chris Owens said, "There are other youth out there with bad parents, but they don't shoot them.”

Nevada voluntary manslaughter law concerns homicides whereby the alleged killer was seriously and highly provoked to inflict injury (by being injured him/herself) or intended only to commit serious personal injury and not death. Nevada voluntary manslaughter law makes the crime a category B felony punishable by one to ten years in state prison and maybe a $10,000 fine.

Two brothers were arrested this week for breaking Nevada homicide law in connection with the killing of an elderly man, who was found dead on Saturday in his condo. Both face first-degree murder charges, and they’re being detained without bail.

Nevada homicide law distinguishes between first and second degree murder. First degree murder is homicide committed with malice aforethought or in the perpetration of a felony. Second degree murder is all other kinds of murder.

Nevada homicide law mandates either death, life imprisonment, life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 20 years, or 50 years imprisonment with the possibility for parole after 20 years. Second degree murder is punished by either life with the possibility of parole after 10 years, or 25 years imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 10 years. The state cannot impose death unless at least one aggravating factor is found that is not outweighed by mitigating factors.

Last week, a Boulder City woman who crashed her car in August, resulting in the death of her husband riding in the passenger seat, was arraigned for involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving and breaking Nevada DUI law. The preliminary hearing is set for January.

The couple was driving home from work when the Dodge truck went off the road and rolled over. The husband wasn’t wearing his seat belt, but the wife was and sustained only minor injuries. She allegedly admitted to police they she had been drinking.

Continue reading "Boulder City Woman Crashes Car, Killing Husband, Charged with DUI" »

Eighty-six-year-old Joseph Woods has been charged with killing his wife, Kay Woods, as part of an apparent murder-suicide pact. After allegedly shooting her in the shoulder, he shot himself in the abdomen but did not die, and he’s currently in a nursing home receiving medical care.

Nevada murder law distinguishes between premeditated murder or felony murder (first degree) and other kinds of murder (second degree). Nevada murder law makes first degree murder a category A felony punishable by death, a life sentence, or a fifty-year sentence with the possibility of parole after twenty years. Second degree murder is also a category A felony, punishable by twenty-five years to life, with the possibility of parole after ten years.

Nevada murder law prohibits capital punishment unless the jury finds at least one aggravating factor that is not outweighed by mitigating factors. Examples of aggravating factors include if the suspect has committed murder or another violent felony in the past, if the suspect committed the murder in exchange for money, or if the victim was a police officer.

A nineteen year old was recently arrested for breaking Nevada DUI law after he allegedly drove his Honda Accord into the path of a Dodge Ram pickup, killing the driver instantly. The teen was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol with a death and a felony count of reckless driving with a death.

Nevada DUI law makes driving under the influence a misdemeanor as long as no one gets hurt. But a DUI with injury or death is a category B felony, with punishment ranging from two to twenty years in prison and fines ranging from $2,000 to $5,000.

Nevada DUI law also restricts prosecutors from plea-bargaining too much unless the evidence is ostensibly weak. But because the suspects presumably meant no harm, they will usually be segregated from more violent offenders in prison.

Patricia Solis, who was charged with breaking Nevada felony DUI law last year, is still at large after bonding out. A bench warrant was issued early this year, though it is believed she may have returned to her home country of Nicaragua.

On November 8th, 2008, Solis allegedly crashed her truck into Rosalyn Gilson’s car while under the influence of drugs. Gilson died instantly. Later tests showed Solis to be high, and a search of her car uncovered bottles of morphine and hydrocodine.

Nevada Felony DUI law covers automobile accidents where a driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol causes death or substantial bodily injury to someone else. The penalties for breaking Nevada felony DUI law include two to twenty years in prison and a fine of $2,000 to $5,000.

On Saturday, Joshua Salayich was booked into the Henderson jail for breaking Las Vegas DUI law by allegedly driving drunk and hitting Utah resident Jeremy Kunz, who was running a relay race at the time. Kunz passed away at the scene.

Las Vegas DUI law makes drunk driving an automatic felony if it causes death in another person. It carries two to twenty years in prison and a fine from $2,000 to $5,000.

When no death or substantial bodily harm occurs during a drunk driving incident, Las Vegas DUI law classifies the offense as just a misdemeanor with a maximum six-month jail sentence. But a third or subsequent DUI offense within a seven-year time span is chargeable as a felony, carrying one to six years in prison.

Twenty-year-old Jonathan Weaver was charged in June with child abuse, child endangerment, kidnapping, and attempted murder in Nevada for allegedly tying up his girlfriend's children so he could go to a bar to watch a basketball game. Yesterday he pleaded not guilty in Clark County District Court.

In June, Weaver's neighbor called the cops after hearing children crying in a garage. Las Vegas Metro found two infant boys tied in their car seats. They were also hooded and had been there for two hours. The police claim Weaver was angry he had to babysit the kids and tied them up so he could go watch the NBA Finals Match-up at a bar.

Attempted murder in Nevada may carry the death penalty unless mitigating factors outweigh the aggravating factors.

Yesterday, Mauricio Melendez was sentenced to life in prison following his July conviction of first-degree murder in Nevada. In August, 2008, police were called to his apartment, where they found his wife dead with a bullet in her head. Melendez claimed they were drunk and was showing her how to use his gun, but one of his co-workers told police that Melendez wanted to kill his wife.

Melendez is eligible for parole after twenty years for the conviction of first-degree murder in Nevada. However, he was also sentenced to an additional twenty years with parole after eight for using a deadly weapon. Since he was given credit for the year he's already spent in prison, he's eligible for parole in twenty-seven years.

Murder in Nevada may carry the death penalty, but only if there's an aggravating circumstance that's not outweighed by any mitigating circumstances.

On Monday morning, police arrested Reno resident Shawn Newman for child abuse and battery in Nevada after allegedly belting his son and then a bystander who tried to intervene. Newman had been walking his son to school when the argument started. Once he allegedly struck the bystander, who fought back, neighbors called authorities and managed to separate the two until the Reno police arrived.

According to police, both the son and bystander suffered injuries, though they are minor. Newman was booked in the Washoe County Jail on $4,115.00 bail.

Battery in Nevada without a deadly weapon and with no substantial bodily injury is a misdemeanor, carrying a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail. The judge may impose community service instead.

Alica Wegner, who pled to second-degree murder in Nevada for the 1997 death of an infant, was sentenced in the Regional Justice Center yesterday to 10 years to life. The baby, Kierra Harrison, had died of massive had trauma a couple days after having been in Wegner's care.

Originally, Wegner was convicted of first degree murder in 1998, but her conviction was overturned in 2000 due to bad jury instructions. This past July, Wegner entered an Alford plea to second-degree murder in Nevada--admitting that there was sufficient evidence to convict her without actually conceding to any wrongdoing.

Since Wegner served three years in prison prior to the conviction being overturned, she was given three years credit for time served, making her eligible for parole in seven years.

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons announced Friday that he will be creating a Nevada Crime Commission, which will examine state crime problems and suggest creative ways to fight them. Gibbons explained, “One of the primary purposes of government is to protect citizens from criminals. I plan to create the Nevada Crime Commission to explore new ways to reduce crime in Nevada and find real solutions to ‘current day’ crime problems.”

In its effort to understand and fight crime trends in Nevada, the commission will be able to create its own task forces and seek funding and grants. Some of the specific crime areas the Nevada Crime Commission will target include mortgage fraud, Medicare/Medicaid fraud, internet crime, gang crimes, prescription drug abuse, and immigration crimes in Nevada.

The Nevada Crime Commission will be made up of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, various business and community leaders, activists, and representatives of various crime victims groups. It will also include appropriate federal agencies; for instance, members from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will be invited to participate to help combat immigration crimes in Nevada.

Last Wednesday a Clark County jury sentenced convicted murderer Thomas Richardson to death for the 2005 killing of 91-year-old Estelle Feldman and her grandson, Steven Folker. Richardson was convicted of robbing them as well, netting $400. The killing was carried out with a claw hammer.

The most damning testimony in the trial came from Richardson’s girlfriend’s son, Robert Denhart, who allegedly helped him with the murders. In exchange for the testimony and his guilty plea to first-degree murder in Las Vegas, Denhart will probably receive a prison sentence of twenty-four to eighty years.

First-degree murder in Las Vegas is one of the few Nevada crimes that potentially carries the death penalty. The appeals process may take ten years or more.

Last week, a jury found Porfirio Duarte-Herrera and Omar Rueda-Denvers guilty of murder and attempted murder in Las Vegas for a 2007 case where they allegedly conspired to kill Luxor employee Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio. Today, the two undocumented aliens were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In the case, Duarte-Herrera allegedly left a tiny bomb in a coffee cup on top of Antonio’s car while Antonio was working at the casino’s Nathan’s Hot Dog stand. The bomb detonated when the twenty-four-year-old went to his car after his shift ended. He perished in front of his girlfriend, who used to date Rueda-Denvers.

Attempted murder in Las Vegas can potentially carry the death penalty. But if mitigating factors are found to outweigh the aggravating factors, the death penalty cannot be imposed.

Last week the Nevada Supreme Court rejected the appeal by convicted murderer Gregory Everett because he waited sixteen years to file a motion to withdraw his guilty plea of first-degree murder in Nevada. In a 3-0 decision, the Court explained, "Appellant failed to provide any explanation for the delay."

On July 12, 1980, Everett and three other men allegedly entered a Las Vegas apartment with the intent to steal. When the resident David Kinnamon walked in on them, one of the other men shot him to death.

In 1981 Everett pled guilty to first-degree murder in Nevada and was originally sentenced to death, but the Nevada State Board of Pardons reduced it to life in prison without parole. Now forty-eight years old, he’s currently in Ely State Prison.

On Tuesday, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman announced that Downtown will soon be home to a Mob Museum, officially called the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. Ironically, it will be located at the site of the former federal courthouse and a short walk from the Clark County Regional Justice Center.

The museum will display many artifacts from real mobsters, but the centerpiece will be a brick wall section that was the actual backdrop for the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago. In addition, the museum will also showcase how law enforcement eventually succeeded in minimizing mob influence. As Mayor Goodman explains, "The bottom line is -- and nobody knows it better than I do -- law enforcement won. The mob is not here, and that's one of the reasons I became the mayor. I didn't have any clients left."

The Las Vegas Mob Museum is set to open in early 2011 and will cost fifty million dollars. Its address is 300 Stewart Ave., a few blocks north of the Clark County Regional Justice Center.

Back in May, Governor Jim Gibbons signed into law Assembly Bill 164, which significantly increases punishment for domestic violence battery in Las Vegas that involves strangulation. Prior to this law, a first offense for battery DV with strangulation was just a misdemeanor with a maximum six months in jail, but it’s now a felony, carrying up to ten years in state prison and a $15,000 fine.

Since AB 164 took effect on July 1 of this year, Las Vegas Metro has arrested nearly a person a day for battery domestic violence in Las Vegas with strangulation. According to some reports, it’s ten times more probable that a person will kill his partner if he’s already attempted to strangle the partner in the past.

Las Vegas typically has 20,000 DV cases a year, and a third of all homicides stem from domestic violence. Las Vegas Metro reports that more than sixty percent of attempted murders were accomplished by strangulation. Furthermore, fifteen percent of all DV homicides within Metro’s jurisdiction were done by strangulation between partners.

At this time, only ten or so other states have laws related specifically to strangulation.

Eugene Nunnery, a twenty-nine year old who was convicted of first-degree murder, among other charges, for the 2006 killing of a drug dealer who swindled him, will not be put to death.

A jury at Clark County District Court had been deliberating for ten hours over whether Nunnery should be sentenced to the death penalty, life in prison without parole, life in prison with the possibility of parole, or a forty-to-one-hundred-year prison sentence. Yesterday, the jury revealed they were deadlocked.

District Judge Elissa Cadish at Clark County District Court announced that she will impose a life sentence without the possibility of parole on Nunnery tomorrow.