Today’s headlines: Video shows former Las Vegas police officer shoving woman into car hood, Body found in desert area of Henderson, Sheriff: Las Vegas police had reasonable suspicion to stop Michael Bennett
Video of the incident involving Michael Bennett and Las Vegas police on the morning of August 27, 2017. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
Bodycam video appears to show then-Metropolitan Police Department officer Richard Scavone, 50, assaulting a woman near Tropicana Avenue and Interstate 15 early morning Jan. 6, 2015. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
Sheriff Joe Lombardo told reporters that officers had reasonable suspicion to stop NFL player Michael Bennett in August after a shooting was reported on the Strip. “They did what they were trained to do,” Lombardo said at an afternoon news conference. (Rio Lacanlale/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Las Vegas police have busted a fake marijuana store. Elevate Medical Pharmacy never had a license to sell, according to police. Clayton Bernard, 36, was arrested on suspicion of illegally selling marijuana, a felony. Bernard told police that Elevate “had nothing to do with marijuana sales.” He also said he did not understand his rights because he wasn’t a U.S. citizen and was trying to start his own country. It’s unclear how long Elevate was in operation.
Las Vegas police bust fake marijuana store
Every year, LVMPD honors those who died at the hands of domestic violence. Elaine Wilson/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Wednesday headlines: one dead after crash with Metro patrol car, dummy used to catch suspected killer on display, CCSD budget miscue may be good news. Elaine Wilson/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Friday’s headlines: Attorney admits to stealing $16 million, Commissioners approve plans for extreme sports park, NFL won’t investigate Bennett accusations
Thursday’s headlines: man receives settlement after country club snack lands him in hospital, two business closure at Palms, LVMPD responds to Michael Bennett’s accusations. Elaine Wilson/Las Vegas Review-Journal.
1. The Las Vegas officer faces charges in the death of Tashii Brown has filed a lawsuit against the police department. Officer Kenneth Lopera’s lawsuit states he shouldn’t have to submit a formal interview because he will be provided “no immunity from future prosecution based on those statements.” Brown died May 14 after being repeatedly shocked with a Taser, and placed in an unauthorized chokehold.
2. Golden Gate in downtown Las Vegas has reopened its doors after closing for renovation on Friday. The multimillion-dollar renovation was completed in 106 hours, and nearly doubled the size of the casino. It also added a 24-foot, 360-degree “television fountain” with a multifaceted spiral crystal chandelier at a new casino entrance off Fremont.
3. The highly anticipated Mayweather-McGregor fight is tonight. Whether you’ll be at T-Mobile Arena, or watching from home, we have you covered with all your fight night coverage. For a list of ways to watch the fight, odds, and much more, visit reviewjournal.com/maymac. (Rochelle Richards/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
1. A Las Vegas police officer arrested last year on child pornography charges had died. Ruben Delgadillo was booked last August on five counts of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. Delgadillo’s lawyer confirmed this his client had died, but did not provide any further details.
2. University of Nevada, Reno is sticking by it’s decision to not fire or expel student Peter Cvjetanovic after participating in white nationalist rallies over the weekend in Charlottesville. A petition on charge.org has reached over 32,000 signatures and states, “The decision to keep Peter sends an important message to the rest of the non-white-male student body: at the University of Nevada, Reno, none of you matter.” Chairman of the state of Board of Regents Kevin Page said UNR’s decision will not be affected no matter how many people sign the petition.
3. A California woman will go home $1.6 million dollars richer. Sandra A. placed a $5 bet at McCarran International Airport and won the jackpot on IGT’s “Wheel of Fortune Pink Diamonds Game”. The jackpot comes just days after a California man won $11.8 million in downtown Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spent $9.6 million on a twin-engine Airbus H145. (Patrick Connolly and Blake Apgar/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
1. Officers identified a teenage suspect, De’Mario Lofton-Robinson, in the death of a CSN nursing student. Lofton-Robinson, 18, was arrested Thursday on multiple charges, including murder with a deadly weapon. Police say Gabriel George Valenzuela pulled into his driveway and checked his mail before getting into a confrontation with four men. He was shot at least 3 times in his driveway.
2. A federal judge cut a defendant’s testimony short in the middle of his Bunkerville standoff retrial. Before starting the trial, U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro barred the defense from referencing constitutional rights to assemble or bear arms and prosecutors objected to Eric Parker’s reference to a sniper being involved in the standoff. The court said Parker violated a court order in his testimony.
3. A naked man shot by police last Saturday had $30,000 with him. Court documents show that Jason Funke had donated to the Life Spring Christian Church before and police found the money with his clothing in the church doorway. Police say Funke appeared to be meditating outside the church when he approached police and then fled to retrieve a gun left on the ground.
More details were revealed alongside the body camera footage of the deadly shootout between a man and two SWAT officers on June 25. The Metropolitan Police Department named Cody Thompson, 33, and Theodore Carrasco, 36, as the officers who shot the suspect, George Marcus Tillman.
Officer Kenneth Lopera is facing charges after Tashii Brown’s in-custody death was ruled a homicide. Lopera was told to let go of Brown by another officer, and continued the chokehold for over 40 seconds after. Elaine Wilson/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Three years ago Officers Alyn Beck and Igor Soldo were there on break eating their lunch, when Jerad and Amanda Miller walked into the restaurant and opened fire.
1. Alexis Plunkett’s lawyer Robert Langford withdrew his representation on Monday, leaving Plunkett in what she calls a “real monetary bind.” The criminal defense attorney who is facing felony charges after providing a cellphone to inmates told a judge Monday that she paid her lawyer more for a week’s worth of work than she paid herself all last month. Plunkett’s hearing is set for next month.
2. Former mixed martial arts fighter War Machine was sentenced to 36 years to life in prison after being convicted of more than two dozen charges in March. Also known as Jonathan Koppenhaver, War Machine was convicted of 29 counts, including sexual assault and first-degree kidnapping in connection with an attack on his ex-girlfriend Christine Mackinday back in August 2014.
3. The Las Vegas police officer who held Tashii Brown in an unauthorized chokehold for more than a minute before his death last month is now facing criminal charges. At an afternoon news briefing on Monday, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said officer Kenneth Lopera is facing felony charges of involuntary manslaughter and oppression under the color of office. Lopera’s arrest marks the first time in nearly three decades a Metro officer has faced charges in connection with a police shooting or in-custody death.
The ACLU and civil rights advocates sound off about the choke hold and Taser use by a Las Vegas police officer on Tashii Brown.
1. A Las Vegas police officer used a Taser on a man 7 times before using a chokehold for more than a minute Sunday before his death. According to police, officer Kenneth Lopera believed Tashi Brown was attempting to carjack someone outside of The Venetian when Lopera used a Taser on Brown 7 times, struck him and administered a chokehold before Brown became unresponsive. The driver of the truck says he didn’t feel he was being carjacked and Brown would not have faced any charges had he survived. Officer Lopera is currently on paid leave while Brown’s death is investigated.
2. Henderson police chief Patrick Moers faces an internal investigation after he sent out mailers to local businesses promoting Friends of Henderson Police Department Foundation, which Moers said was the department’s only authorized fundraising group. Henderson Mayor Debra March said she was concerned by the mailer and a spokesman with the police department says the city is reviewing its policies in regards to charitable activities.
3. UFC president Dana White and Conor McGregor have agreed on a deal to fight boxer Floyd Mayweather. White said late Wednesday that UFC and McGregor came to terms on a deal and now they must work on a deal with Mayweather’s team. Terms have yet to be released.
reviewjournal.com
1. A former Las Vegas nightclub promoter was acquitted Thursday of kidnapping and sexual assault charges. A 25-year-old woman testified that Frederick Richards took her to his home in Rhodes Ranch after meeting at Hyde nightclub, and that she awoke the next morning with her underwear across the room. Jurors said they felt the state couldn’t prove the woman’s testimony and that it wasn’t an easy decision to acquit Richards.
2. A man was shot and killed at a northwest Las Vegas apartment complex. Police were dispatched to Bloom Apartment Homes on Gowan Road near Tenaya Way at about 6 p.m. Thursday, where they found a man dead inside a car. Police are still investigating.
3. The Raiders are set to name a general contractor for a new Las Vegas stadium. Raiders president Marc Badain said Thursday that a contract has yet to be finalized, but that they’re working with a Minneapolis-based firm Mortensen Construction that is partners with McCarthy Building Companies in Henderson. A timeline released by the Stadium Authority estimates stadium groundbreaking by late December or early January.
reviewjournal.com
1. The cyclist that was struck and killed Tuesday near Red Rock Resort was Las Vegas reconstructive hand surgeon Kayvan Khiabani. Khaibani was the head of hand and microsurgery at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine and chief of hand surgery at University Medical Center. His wife, Katy Barin, said her husband was a caring and confident father of two. Memorial services for Khiabani are being planned.
2.A rodent that is native to Argentina was found wandering in a parking lot Thursday. The Patagonian mara was picked up at around 3 pm near West Sahara Avenue and South Decatur Boulevard. The animal was taken to a county animal shelter and the owner is still unknown.
3. A man with multiple gunshot wounds was found meandering in a desert area in the southwest Las Vegas Valley Thursday night. Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Carlos Hank said that there is no information yet as to what happened to the man. Lt. Hank added that the man is in critical condition and is undergoing surgery.
1. Prominent sports bettor David Oancea, known to most as “Vegas Dave” was arraigned in federal court and pleaded not guilty to using other people’s Social Security numbers to open player accounts at area casinos. Oancea was arrested by Metro officers for an outstanding domestic battery warrant after his arraignment. His federal trial is set for June 20th.
2. A criminal complaint against a Las Vegas fire captain states that Richard Loughry paid a 15-year-old girl $300 to have sex with him in a fire station. An online ad said the girl was 22 years old and Loughry exchanged text messages with the girl before she met him at the station. Loughry made his first court appearance this morning.
3. Two Bullhead City officers rescued a pair of brothers early this morning from the Colorado River. The two brothers in their mid-20s were kayaking late at night when the kayaks capsized. The officers removed their gear and jumped in to help the brothers and the Bullhead City Police Department called the men “heroes.”
A bull escaped from its corral in the north Las Vegas valley today, according to Las Vegas police. (Courtesy Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
Police say Antwine Hunter stole a cell phone and scanner from a Las Vegas UPS driver and ran from the scene. Hunter hasn’t walked without crutches and braces since 1999, when he was shot five times outside his Compton, California middle school in a drive-by shooting that left a fellow sixth-grader dead.
Two separate homicides happened less than a half-mile from each other and less than two hours apart in the east valley Monday evening, and the proximity and nature of the incidents prompted Sheriff Joe Lombardo to address the continuing increase in valley violence.
Sheriff Lombardo addresses the press regarding the surge in homicides and violent crimes in the Las Vegas valley.
Homicide Lt. Dan McGrath addresses the fatal shooting at Lee’s Discount Liquor late Monday.
Neighbor’s video of incident with man who police say shot and killed two people and a police dog Thursday.
A wild police chase involving a stolen U-Haul truck, with shots fired, through downtown Las Vegas ended at Craig Road and Clayton Street with two suspects being taken into custody and a police officer in the process.
Undersheriff Kevin McMahill briefs the media on New Year’s Eve OIS involving a suspect with cellphone that police thought was a gun.