Las Vegas police sergeant fails in effort to get judge removed from cases
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Metro police sergeant's attempt to get a judge removed from overseeing two criminal cases against him has failed.
Attorneys for Kevin Menon, 43, filed a motion to disqualify Clark County District Court Judge Ron Israel, citing allegations of abuse from his daughter. Clark County District Court Judge Mark Denton denied Menon's motion in an order Wednesday.
Menon is charged in three separate criminal cases.
In his first case, the Clark County District Attorney's Office alleges Menon abused his power by creating fake scenarios that resulted in citizens, mainly Black men, being detained on the Las Vegas Strip.
Detectives said when they seized Menon's electronic devices for the investigation, they found child sexual abuse material, also known as child pornography. This resulted in a second criminal case against Menon for child pornography-related charges.
As a result of an additional search warrant, police said they found hidden cameras in bathrooms Menon's home. This resulted in the third criminal case.
Israel is overseeing the first two criminal cases.
'The court cannot find the defendant has met his burden to establish actual or implied bias or lack of impartiality warranting disqualification of Judge Israel,' Denton wrote in his order.
Menon's attorneys, Dominic Gentile and Austin Barnum, filed a 644-page document on March 10 arguing for Israel's disqualification.
'Judge Israel is publicly accused of criminal conduct by his daughter,' they wrote.
The motion included links from YouTube and TikTok where a woman, identified as Israel's daughter, Sarah, claimed Israel abused her.
'My dad has stalked me and terrorized me at my house to the point where I developed agoraphobia, because, like the last time I saw him at his house, he tried to pull a gun out on me, and I had to run for my life,' the woman claimed. 'I am scared. I am scared, beyond belief.'
Israel responded in a court filing on March 11, stating he should not be disqualified, he does not have any personal bias or prejudice toward Menon, and he was unaware of any active investigations regarding his daughter's claims.
'If an agency wants to investigate the matter, they are welcome to; I am unaware of any facts that would even remotely create any bias,' Israel wrote. 'I cannot comment on my daughter's mental health issues based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.'
Menon has claimed in court documents that he tried to expose racism within the police department, and he is being retaliated against.
According to the motion to disqualify Israel, Menon tried to report his superior for being 'overtly racist and using the 'n-word' freely,' but a detective and sergeant turned the investigation against Menon and accused him of being untruthful and refused to look at text messages to verify his allegations.
The motion included copies of text messages about the individual Menon reported.
'I do believe he's playing the system to get you fired,' one text, which appeared to be from another officer, read. 'None of us will lie to protect him.'
'He targeted me, he spread lies about me, and he said racist, offensive about Indians, and black people (knowing my wife is black),' Menon texted, according to the court filing.
Menon is currently in custody after Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus, who is overseeing the third criminal case, increased his bail to $500,000 cash on April 14.
A jury trial in the third case was scheduled for June 2. A jury trial in the second case was scheduled for Aug. 18.
Hearings with Holthus and Israel are scheduled for May 5 to address Menon's 'indigent status,' which has been filed under seal, according to court records.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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