Bail set at $25K for suspect in sexual assault of woman walking dog
An 18-year-old man charged with sexually assaulting a woman who was walking her dog in west Las Vegas made his first court appearance Thursday.
Laparese Jones walked into Las Vegas Justice Court in a blue medical mask and red shirt and his hands shackled. At times during the 10-minute hearing, he appeared dizzy and started to sway. Bailiffs helped to seat him before he put his head down on a table.
Jones was arrested Tuesday and faces charges of sexual assault, battery by strangulation to commit sexual assault, battery to commit sexual assault to assist or promote a criminal gang, attempted kidnapping and destroying or concealing evidence, court records show.
The charges stem from a March 8 attack at an apartment complex on the 2000 block of Torrey Pines Drive. A woman was walking her dog at around 7 a.m. when Jones pushed her to the ground and started sexually assaulting her, Metropolitan Police Department sex crimes Lt. Richard Meyers said at a briefing Wednesday afternoon.
Last week, police said the woman fought back and was able to call 911.
Meyers said investigators knocked on more than 1,000 doors in the area in a dayslong effort to identify Jones before his arrest.
Jones was arrested near Vegas Drive and Rainbow Boulevard on Tuesday and booked into the Clark County Detention Center.
During the hearing, prosecutors asked Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure to bail at $150,000 with high-level electronic monitoring and said Jones had confessed to the crime. They said he could face life in prison if he is convicted of the most serious charges against him.
His public defender, Marissa Pensabene, requested bail be set at $10,000 and said her client was a high school student attending classes online and set to graduate in the fall.
Bonaventure set Jones’ bail at $25,000 bail with high-level electronic monitoring. Jones remained in custody Thursday morning and was due back in court on Tuesday.
Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.