Latest news with #JusticeCourt
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
$250K bail set for Las Vegas corrections officer accused of deadly DUI, hit-and-run crash
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A judge set the bail at $250,000 for a corrections officer accused in a deadly DUI and hit-and-run crash early Mother's Day. Maurice Washington, 45, made his initial appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court Monday morning. He is accused of hitting and killing 58-year-old Elijah Givens, who was crossing a street around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday. Las Vegas Metropolitan police said Washington was speeding on Decatur Boulevard when he struck Givens, who was crossing the street at Alta Drive, causing Givens' body to land on his car before falling onto the street. Although Givens was in a marked crosswalk, he was crossing against the light. Washington's attorney requested a lower bail, arguing that Washington doesn't have a previous criminal record, has lived in the valley his entire life, and is a corrections officer at the City of Las Vegas Detention Center for the past 19 years. Washington was off-duty at the time of the crash. During the court appearance, Judge Suzan Baucum said she considered Washington a flight risk because he left the scene of the crash. She said he only made it a half-mile from the crash when his car became inoperable, forcing him to stop. Washington returned to the crash scene about 45 minutes after it happened and was taken into custody for showing signs of impairment. Washington, who was still in custody at the Clark County Detention Center Monday morning, is facing charges of DUI, reckless driving resulting in substantial bodily injury, hit-and-run, and displaying a bogus vehicle registration, plate, or title. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Florida teens kidnap Las Vegas man, drive him to Arizona desert, steal $4M in cryptocurrency: police
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Three teenagers are accused of kidnapping a man at gunpoint, driving him to a remote desert area an hour outside of Las Vegas, and stealing $4 million in cryptocurrency and other digital assets, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. Belal Ashraf and Austin Fletcher, both 16, and a third teenager face charges including robbery, kidnapping, and extortion, records said. A juvenile court judge previously certified Ashraf and Fletcher as adults. The third teenager was no longer in the United States, a prosecutor said during Fletcher's probable cause hearing Friday. The men are accused of stealing $4 million in cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), prosecutors said. Last November, a man called police saying three young men kidnapped him at gunpoint, drove him to a remote desert area, and stole millions of dollars from him, documents said. That night, the victim was hosting a cryptocurrency-related event at a business in Downtown Las Vegas, police said. The victim then returned to his apartment complex and parked his car. The three suspects then approached him and forced him into the back seat of their vehicle, police said. '[The victim] was told if he complied, he would live to see another day, and if he did not comply, they had his dad and would kill him,' documents said. '[The victim] had a towel placed over his head and was told by the suspects not to look at them.' The young men demanded the victim's passwords and threatened him for access to his financial accounts, police said. It also appeared that another person was directly speaking to the young men through a phone call, which the victim could hear through a speakerphone. Police suspect the three young men then drove the victim across the Nevada border to White Hills, Arizona — more than 70 miles and an hour's drive from Las Vegas. The victim walked five miles alone in the desert to reach a gas station where he called a friend to pick him up, documents said. Metro investigators later tracked a possible suspect vehicle traveling from Florida to Nevada, specifically including the locations of the victim's apartment. In a separate vehicle stop in Mississippi, a gun involving a suspect's family member matched one in one of the teenager's social media profiles, police said. The three teenagers were also involved in disturbances together at a Florida high school, police said. In one report from last summer, the young men 'were reported as swearing in English and Arabic, and [Ashraf] was observed shoulder checking a school resource officer,' and screaming at an assistant principal, documents said. During Friday's hearing, Fletcher's public defender argued for her client to serve house arrest. Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Daniel Westmeyer set bail at $4 million. During a hearing Tuesday in Ashraf's case, his attorney, Ross Goodman, argued for his client to serve house arrest. Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Noreen Demonte ordered Ashraf's release with electronic monitoring, records said. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for June. The FBI assisted in the investigation, documents said. 8 News Now Investigator David Charns can be reached at dcharns@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
Las Vegas sex worker charged for visitor's murder
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A sex worker faces a murder charge connected to a visitor's death in a Las Vegas Strip hotel room, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. Metro police arrested Heidi Warner, 23, on April 10 on second-degree murder and drug charges, records said. In February 2024, a person called police to say she had not heard from her family member, Senaca Higley, 46, of Utah, who was staying at Caesars Palace, documents said. The person also reported $2,400 was withdrawn from Higley's bank account during the time of his disappearance. Police suspect Higley died on the evening of Feb. 23, 2024, documents said. However, hotel security did not discover his body in the hotel room's bathroom until Feb. 25 with suspected fentanyl pills in a plastic bag nearby, documents said. The Clark County coroner's office later determined Higley died from fentanyl poisoning. Higley, a father of a young child, also worked as an auctioneer, his obituary said. Metro's forensic laboratory later tested the suspected fentanyl pills, documents said. The pills tested positive for fentanyl and acetaminophen. Police reviewed video from the hotel, which showed Higley walking to his room with an unknown woman. The woman, whose face was partially covered with a sweatshirt and hood, was later recorded on video leaving the room alone, police said. A family member later found a message on Higley's phone where he conversed with a woman, later identified as Warner, about buying Adderall, documents said. The woman later offered to sell Higley an illicit form of oxycodone. Two weeks before Higley's death, Warner pleaded no contest to trespass in an unrelated case, records said. As part of her sentence, a Las Vegas Justice Court judge ordered her to stay away from the Las Vegas Strip for six months. Records show Warner completed the court-ordered requirements, however, her most recent arrest would indicate she actually violated the terms. Metro police detained Warner in April 2024 on a prostitution-related charge in Downtown Las Vegas, documents said. During that arrest, investigators seized Warner's phone but they were unable to access its contents. However, a judge later authorized a search warrant of Warner's digital accounts. In the account, police said they found Higley's contact information saved under the name of a different Strip property. In August, police surveilled Warner outside of her apartment, noting she was wearing similar clothing to the woman in the video with Higley, documents said. It was not until April 10 that police arrested Warner for allegedly providing the pills that killed Higley. During Warner's probable cause hearing on April 11, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Daniel Westmeyer denied setting bail. On April 15, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Amy Chelini set bail at $75,000, records said, after prosecutors asked for $150,000 and Warmer's attorney requested $10,000, records said. Should Warner post bond, Chelini ordered her to wear a monitoring bracelet and stay away from the Strip. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 21. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
Gulfport police identify suspect in Saturday's deadly shooting after Easter egg hunt
A South Mississippi man is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting at a church event Saturday that killed a security guard and left a second parishioner wounded, Gulfport Police Lt. Jason Ducre said. Police identified the suspect as 24-year-old Tyran Deion Gable, of Saucier. He is charged with a second count of aggravated assault for shooting and injuring the a parishioner from Empowerment Ministries Christian Center. Justice Court Judge Nick Patano denied Gable bond on the murder charge and set his bond at $250,000 on the aggravated assault offense. Gable also sustained injuries and underwent treatment after someone took him by private vehicle to a Gulfport hospital. The shooting occurred during a domestic violence dispute after a church-sponsored Easter egg hunt Saturday at the Goldin Sports Complex on Prudie Circle. Deacon Eddie Shed, 39, of McHenry, died of multiple gunshot wounds at the scene of the shooting. According to authorities, Shed died trying to protect the victim of a domestic dispute that occurred after the Easter event concluded. According to the Empowerment Ministries Senior Pastor, the Rev. Gregg S. Magee, 'Deacon Shed epitomized the virtues of a hero, displaying selfless courage and bravery that ultimately saved others from harm. He paid the ultimate price for his valor, and we are deeply saddened by this loss.' During a service Sunday at the church, the pastor praised Shed for his selfless actions and asked parishioners to pray for his family and the family of the second shooting victim, as well as the suspect and his family. The church is accepting donations to help Shed and the other parishioners' families with funeral services and medical expenses. Gulfport police are asking anyone with information to call 228-868-5959 or Mississippi Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898.
New York Times
27-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Las Vegas Man Faces State and U.S. Arson Charges in Torching of Tesla Vehicles
A Nevada man is facing state and federal arson charges after the police say he spray-painted the word 'resist' on the doors of a Tesla repair center and set fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas last week. The police said that early on March 18, the man, Paul Hyon Kim, 36, of Las Vegas, shot at surveillance cameras and used a firearm and Molotov cocktails to damage five Tesla vehicles, engulfing at least two in flames. The torching, which occurred about 2:45 a.m., was among a number of acts of vandalism and arson against Tesla property in recent weeks, as the company's chief executive, Elon Musk, has led President Trump's push to drastically shrink the size of the federal government and fire thousands of federal workers. Tesla charging stations have also been set on fire outside Boston. And in Colorado, federal prosecutors have accused a man of spray-painting the word 'Nazi' on a Tesla dealership and of planting an incendiary device there. Last week, Mr. Musk described the attack on the Tesla repair center in Las Vegas as 'terrorism,' echoing Attorney General Pam Bondi's calling the destruction of Tesla property 'nothing short of domestic terrorism.' She has promised 'severe consequences' for anyone who targets the company. Mr. Kim, who was arrested on Wednesday, faces 15 state charges in Clark County Justice Court, including three counts of arson, four counts of destroying property worth more than $5,000 and three counts of unlawful possession of an incendiary device. He was also charged separately in federal court with one count of arson and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer. Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.'s Las Vegas office, said at a news conference on Thursday that the arrest should send a message. 'There's nothing courageous or noble about firebombing private property and terrorizing your local community,' Mr. Evans said. President Trump has suggested that those convicted of damaging or destroying Tesla vehicles — including U.S. citizens — could be sent to prisons in El Salvador. The Las Vegas police said that investigators had linked Mr. Kim to the arson through surveillance video of the Hyundai that he drove to and from the Tesla repair center. After he was arrested, a DNA sample taken from his cheek matched DNA retrieved from the crime scene, the police said. The police said they had also searched Mr. Kim's apartment and had found several rifles, a shotgun and a handgun, as well as ammunition of the same caliber that was fired at the Tesla vehicles. Investigators also seized a gun belt and a backpack with pink paint residue, linking him to the spray paint used at the crime scene, the police said. Investigators believe that Mr. Kim acted alone, the police said. An intelligence bulletin from the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security dated March 21 and obtained by The New York Times said recent attacks on Tesla vehicles and facilities 'appear to have been conducted by lone offenders, and all known incidents occurred at night, making identification and arrest of the actors difficult.' The bulletin encouraged law enforcement agencies to aggressively pursue those who have defaced or destroyed Tesla property. But the bulletin also said that law enforcement agents should not investigate 'constitutionally protected activity' directed at Mr. Musk. The warning came as Tesla dealerships have drawn protests in recent weeks. Some Tesla owners have also sold their vehicles to distance themselves from the polarizing billionaire.
