Criminal Justice + Policing
County criminalizes stopping for a selfie on Strip pedestrian bridges
Catching a glimpse of the Las Vegas Grand Prix from a pedestrian bridge on Las Vegas Boulevard, or stopping to get directions or snap a selfie will now be illegal, following a unanimous vote Tuesday by the Clark County Commission. Calls to police for “disorder-related” events on the Strip increased 23% between 2018 and 2022, […]
Looking back (and a little forward): 2023 selections & reflections from the Nevada Current staff
Note: As we do near the end of every year, each writer on the Nevada Current staff took a little time to highlight some of their work from the year, and say whatever they wanted to say about it. An embarrassment of riches. That’s how I’d sum up 2023 for its news value. In case […]
UNLV shooter had target lists, mailed envelopes to educators before rampage
The shooter who killed three UNLV faculty members Wednesday mailed at least 22 envelopes without a return address to education professionals across the country before entering the campus with a Taurus handgun and 11 magazines of ammunition, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill revealed at a news conference Thursday afternoon. One envelope contained a white powdery […]
Three dead, one victim in stable condition after UNLV shooting
This story was updated Dec. 7. A University of Nevada Las Vegas campus detective is responsible for ending a late morning active shooting that left three people dead and another hospitalized in stable condition. The Clark County Coroner identified two of the victims on Thursday. Business Professor Cha Jan Chang, 64 of Henderson was also […]
LV council adopts ‘order out corridor’ ordinance; ACLU warns it will be challenged
The City of Las Vegas unanimously adopted an ordinance that prohibits people convicted of any crimes committed within the tourist corridor downtown from returning to the area. While the city’s “order out corridor” ordinance, modeled after a Clark County law passed in August 2022, goes into effect Sunday, the council said it plans to consider […]
Nevada settles lawsuits with injured inmate firefighters, stripsearched woman
The State of Nevada on Tuesday agreed to pay $340,000 to a group of inmate firefighters who alleged they were mocked and denied immediate medical care after inadequate equipment led to second-degree burns and their socks melting to their feet. The state also approved a $126,500 settlement for a woman who was stripsearched and interrogated […]
FBI probes letters sent to election offices in handful of states, including Nevada
The Nevada Secretary of State’s office says federal authorities, as part of a nationwide investigation, alerted election officials of “suspicious letters addressed to elections offices in multiple states, including Nevada.” CBS News reported Thursday that a senior U.S. official said about a dozen letters were sent to addresses in California, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon and Washington […]
Phone scammers call all over, but seem especially attracted to Nevadans, Senate panel learns
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) during a Senate subcommittee Tuesday highlighted the pervasiveness of telephone scams in Nevada and across the nation. Speaking during the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee, Rosen highlighted a report from the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN) that found Nevada had the third highest rate of reported fraud and […]
‘Kraken’ Trump lawyer Sidney Powell flipped her plea to guilty in 2020 election RICO case
Texas attorney Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to election interference charges in Fulton County Superior Court on Thursday, one day before jury selection was scheduled to begin for her trial. As part of the plea deal, Powell was sentenced to six years of probation for conspiring to interfere with the performance of election duties for orchestrating […]
Domestic abuse takes many forms, even in the absence of physical violence
Alison stopped for gas in Carson City before driving to a medical appointment for her adenomyosis, a reproductive health condition that causes fatigue, fainting, and anemia when she realized she couldn’t pay because her card was rejected. She went into Nevada State Bank, where she discovered the more than $20,000 in the joint account that […]
For Tribes in frontier Nevada, domestic violence brings a messy web of legal jurisdiction issues
[Advisory: This story includes details of domestic violence] Domestic abusers often evade the legal system with many cases being underreported, but on reservations, a lack of coordination between federal, state, and tribal laws makes prevention and prosecution even more difficult. Non-Native people commit an overwhelming amount of domestic violence against Native women and men, according […]
Fentanyl sentencing, prison reforms among 106 laws taking effect Oct. 1
Legislation enacting harsher penalties for fentanyl possession, requiring unlimited feminine hygiene products for women who are incarcerated, and establishing parameters for prosecutors who use jailhouse informants are among the bills scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1. Of the 106 bills passed in the 2023 Legislative session that take effect next week, several measures make […]