Latest news with #McMahill
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Las Vegas sheriff frustrated after red-light camera, DUI bills fail: ‘We can do better'
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Several proposals in the Nevada Legislature aimed at curbing dangerous and impaired driving failed, leaving LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill frustrated as more people in his jurisdiction die on valley roads. 'I got to be honest with you, I feel like I failed,' McMahill, who leads the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, told the 8 News Now Investigators during an exclusive interview Wednesday. 'We can do better. We absolutely can do better, and politics played a role in these things not getting passed.' The 120-day legislative session ended Tuesday at midnight. Nevada lawmakers failed to pass any legislation this session to amend the state's DUI laws where death is involved, or several proposals to allow red-light cameras. McMahill pushed for the cameras in an attempt to discourage reckless and speeding drivers. 'I'm sick and tired of people dying on our roadways because of the bad behavior of other drivers,' he told a legislative committee in March. The bill failed to move forward and died in April. Two proposals aimed at enhancing sentences for DUI involving death also failed to become law. Nevada's DUI-with-death law carries a sentence of 2-20 years. A 1995 Nevada law requires judges to sentence a person to a range, meaning the maximum amount of time a DUI driver who kills can serve in prison before going before the parole board is eight years. The 8 News Now Investigators have found most drivers who kill serve those eight years or less, not 20. An amended version of Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo's crime bill, Senate Bill 457, would have increased the maximum amount of prison time for a DUI driver who kills to 25 years. Lombardo told the 8 News Now Investigators in March that he wanted to change the law to allow prosecutors to charge a DUI driver who kills with second-degree murder. The amended version would have carried a similar maximum sentence – 25 years — as the state's second-degree murder statute. However, the bill failed to pass the Nevada Senate amid a last-minute scramble and speech. A second proposal, Senate Bill 304, would have amended the state's vehicular homicide law to include all DUIs involving death. As currently written, a driver must have three prior DUI convictions to face a vehicular-homicide charge. The proposal would have negated the prior conviction clause, carrying a possible sentence of 10 to 25 years or 10 to life, the same as the state's second-degree murder statute. 'There's just tragedy, tragedy, tragedy all the way around, and it sickens me that I wasn't able to get this done, quite frankly,' McMahill said. Opponents have argued that imprisoning a person for years on the taxpayers' dime is not effective 'Who do you think is working against this?' 8 News Now Investigator David Charns asked the sheriff. 'I think there's a lot of people out there who advocate that this mass incarceration piece hasn't worked over the years,' McMahill said. 'And look, there's a few arguments I think that are valid on that side of the house. There's also a bunch of people that think we've become very soft on crime, and I think there's some arguments that are true there as well.' Nevada law classifies a person's first DUI as a misdemeanor. It carries a potential jail sentence of 2-180 days, though the law is written to say the time can be served through community service. The crime becomes a felony after a person's third DUI within seven years. Tougher penalties, including potential prison time, do not begin unless a person joins that three-plus club. A felony DUI conviction can carry prison time and require a driver to have an interlock device placed in their vehicle. One driver the 8 News Now Investigators followed racked up the three cases so quickly that he did not have a second DUI conviction before his third arrest, meaning all three remained misdemeanors. Records show in those first three DUI cases, municipal court judges ordered the driver to attend classes, stay out of trouble and pay a fine. 'The punishments are literally a slap on the hand,' McMahill said. 'The multiple, multiple DUI, I've watched your reports, you know exactly what I'm talking about, people can get away with a DUI over and over again and that's purely not acceptable.' A third proposal involving misdemeanor DUI, Senate Bill 309, passed and — 36 hours after the end of the session — showed as enrolled in the legislative system. The bill changes the minimum jail requirements for a person's second DUI offense within seven years, amending a possible penalty from 10 days in jail to 20. The bill also lowers the blood-alcohol threshold for when a defendant would be ordered into treatment. Several people blamed the failure of the governor's crime bill on its late introduction and last-minute votes in the final minutes of the legislative session. The governor submitted the crime bill in February, but the Legislative Counsel Bureau did not finalize it until April, a spokesperson for his office said. They added that Democratic leadership did not give the bill a hearing until May 28 — days before the end of the session. Lawmakers will not reconvene, except for special circumstances at the request of the governor, until February 2027. 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
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Las Vegas police investigate drug link to gym shooting
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Metro police are investigating whether the synthetic drug Spice contributed to a gunman shooting and killing a gym employee last month. Metro police suspect Daniel Ortega, 34, intended to carry out a mass shooting at the Las Vegas Athletic Club on Rainbow Boulevard near Vegas Drive before his gun jammed. On Friday, May 16, Ortega killed Edgar Quinonez, 31. Metro police shot and killed Ortega as he ran out of the front of the business. Three other people were injured in the shooting. 'We don't have a definitive answer on it,' LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during an exclusive interview Wednesday with the 8 News Now Investigators. 'I can tell you there was a long history of abuse of the drug Spice. That certainly could have contributed to that strange behavior.' Spice, also referred to as K2, is a synthetic cannabinoid that mimics THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. 'These products are being abused for their psychoactive properties and are packaged without information as to their health and safety risks,' the DEA warned. Ortega's history with Spice dates back a decade, McMahill said. In 2013, North Las Vegas police arrested Ortega on a drug-trafficking charge, records said. A judge ordered him to pay a fine, attend drug counseling, and perform community service. Ortega was a member of the gym and worked out at that location, but there was no connection known between him and Quinonez, police said three days after the shooting. Detectives were awaiting toxicology results as part of their investigation, McMahill said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Las Vegas police to rejoin ICE program to hold undocumented immigrants already in jail: ‘I don't want them in my community anymore'
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Metro police will soon hold undocumented immigrants already in their custody and who have committed crimes for an additional 48 hours as part of an agreement with federal officials. The 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allows Metro officers to serve a federal warrant on an inmate and keep that person in the Clark County Detention Center for no more than two additional days. 'I don't want them in my community anymore,' LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill said about undocumented criminals already in his jail during an exclusive interview Wednesday with the 8 News Now Investigators. 'We had child pornographers being released; folks that had shot people being released,' McMahill said. 'Yesterday we had a guy that shot at a bunch of people get released — assault with a deadly weapon — and that was also a part of the catalyst to do this that these are people that have committed very serious offenses and were in the country illegally and because of manpower issues and the timing we couldn't turn them over to ICE.' Metro applied to the program last week, McMahill said. He believed the approval was imminent. Metro alerts ICE during booking and release for violent felonies and crimes that fall in line with the Laken Riley Act, which includes theft and shoplifting. However, ICE must obtain a warrant and pick up the inmate. The program essentially means ICE will have two additional days to pick up the inmate. As of Tuesday, 350 inmates were ICE-notification eligible, McMahill said. In an interview earlier this year, McMahill said ICE routinely picks up about 40% of the inmates whom Metro has notified them about. He added Wednesday that ICE makes daily pickups at the jail. 'These individuals that have criminal complaints and conduct and have been convicted and/or charged, and they're being released from our jail, we're making notifications, and we're going to continue to do that,' McMahill said. Metro will not partake in mass deportation 'roundups,' McMahill said earlier this year. The immigration issue is personal to McMahill. A previously deported undocumented immigrant driving drunk killed LVMPD Officer Colton Pulsipher last December. Metro police previously took part in 287(g) until 2019, when a federal court ruling ended the partnership. Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security listed Las Vegas as a 'sanctuary jurisdiction,' though there is no city or Metro policy on the matter, and both the sheriff and Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley have publicly said otherwise. The department later removed the entire list. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Yahoo
Tech CEO details his company's role in catching alleged Vegas Tesla attacker
When Las Vegas law enforcement announced that they had arrested the alleged Tesla attacker, Sheriff Kevin McMahill emphasized the importance of the technology used to solve the case. One such piece of technology was a Flock Safety license plate reader (LPR) system, which McMahill said gave law enforcement its "first clue." McMahill told reporters on March 27 that he had started to wonder if the case would ever be solved. However, the sheriff, who desires to run the "most technologically advanced police department in the country," recognized Flock Safety's system for the major role it played in the investigation. Alleged Tesla attacker Paul Hyon Kim faces a string of charges, including federal offenses. Police say Kim arrived near the location in a black Hyundai Elantra before walking over to the Tesla building. He was allegedly dressed in all black and had his face covered. How Tesla 'Sentry Mode' Busts Attackers, And How Owners Can Enable It "We're a proud partner of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department and have been for a few years," Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley told FOX Business. Read On The Fox Business App According to Langley, the system that led to Kim's arrest was deployed about two years ago. The tech CEO said that since the system was deployed, it has helped the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) make "successful apprehensions every day, all day." What makes Flock Safety's system unique is what Langley describes as a "plain English-like search" that can be instrumental in tracking down suspects. Once police officers have a license plate, they can enter it into the system and set it so that the nearest officer will be notified if the vehicle is in the area again. Woman Outsmarts Mail Thieves With Simple Technology "When you give law enforcement modern technology, they are very effective at their job. But absent that technology, they are not magicians, they need this technology to be effective," Langley told FOX Business. Langley, like McMahill, sees technology as playing a key role in the future of law enforcement and fighting crime. He predicts that technology like Flock Safety's will lead to more objective policing, faster response times and higher clearance rates, meaning criminals will be more likely to be held accountable. Flock Safety has deployed its systems across the U.S., and each one is tailored to that community's specific needs. When the company builds deployment plans, it does so with local law enforcement's assessment of crime types and the areas that are most affected. "When you look at the way we've designed the system, it's incredibly versatile, where regardless the type of crime, whether it is your standard residential burglary or it is your organized criminal activity with international gangs, or as in this case, a lone arsonist who feels compelled to attack Tesla, you know, we can make it fit given the size of the city and the type of crime they're seeing," said Langley. He also told FOX Business that Flock Safety's "mandate, technology-wise, is to help every community thrive." "We're an optimistic group of people, about 1,000 strong. And we believe that crime is an option. We believe that communities can choose to eliminate crime, and it starts with technology, then great policy and great people," Langley said. Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this article source: Tech CEO details his company's role in catching alleged Vegas Tesla attacker
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
What's Driving You Crazy? – Emotional testimony from Metro Sheriff Kevin McMahill in support of red light cameras
LAS VEGAS ( KLAS ) – While Metro Sheriff Kevin McMahill made headlines Monday as he testified in favor of red light cameras in Nevada, we also want to let you know how emotional he got. In talking about how many people die in traffic crashes in Las Vegas, McMahill noted that he was Undersheriff at the time of the 1 October mass shooting in 2017: '58 people died that night. Our traffic fatalities are the equivalent of three OneOctobers occurring every single year. Fatal traffic accidents are gruesome scenes to investigate: bodies that are ripped apart and mangled. And then we have to deal with the loved ones that are left behind.' Mcmahill says fatal crashes – and every crisis police try to take care of – don't just affect victim families: 'One of the reasons that I started the Wellness Bureau at Metro was to take care of the heart, mind, body and soul of my police officers. They see too much, hear too much, feel too much, sometimes smell too much. We have a responsibility as leaders to try to reduce the amount of trauma that they have to see across the board.' As 8NewsNow has reported McMahill says he would've opposed red light cameras 10 years ago, but not any more. We'll keep you posted on the proposed legislation in Carson City. Buckle up, drive carefully – and, please put down that phone! You're welcome to join the 'Driving You Crazy' conversation at: traffic8@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
