Warren Jeffs, who made an appearance this morning in the Las Vegas Township Justice Court, waived extradition to Utah and Arizona. Washington County, Utah authorities have 30 days to transfer him to St. George, Utah where he will face two charges of rape as an accomplice. The hearing lasted only a few minutes and Jeffs indicated he wanted to return to face the charges.
Journalists attending the Warren Jeffs fugitive hearing should arrive no later than 9 AM to obtain access to the courtroom. Television/Radio pool coverage is being coordinated by Mike Christensen at KTNV (Ch. 13) in Las Vegas with assistance from all local channels. Mr. Christensen can be contacted at (702) 871-3345. A mult-box will be installed for pool coverage. In addition, the hearing will be made available live on satellite at the following coordinates:
The window begins at 12:15 ET and runs until 1:15 ET. It will be extended if required.
AMC 5 11J: 12059 vertical
Data Rate: 5.5
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Journalist seating will be limited to one reporter from each media outlet. The judge has not imposed a limit on the number of still cameras that can attend the hearing, however, the court may limit still photography to two (2) cameras in a media pool consisting of the Associated Press and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. This decision will be made by the court prior to 8:30 AM Thursday (Aug. 31) morning.
Journalists may not conduct interviews in the hallway outside of the courtroom or near the entrances to the 7th Floor. All media interviews must take place on the first floor behind the North or South Information Booths, no exceptions. Credentials are not required, however, media should be prepared to identify themselves to bailiffs or court administrators.
Warren Steed Jeffs will make an initial appearance on two fugitive warrants out of Utah and Arizona at 9:30 AM Thursday (Aug. 31) in the Las Vegas Justice Court courtroom of James Bixler located on the 7th Floor of the Regional Justice Center at 200 Lewis Avenue in downtown Las Vegas. Jeffs is being held on a no bail hold in the Clark County Detention Center.
Media Requests must be filed for camera acccess to the courtroom 72 Hours in advance, unless good cause can be shown for missing the court deadline. Click here for access to the Media Request Form. It must be faxed back to (702) 671-4535.
Media cameras must be staged and ready to enter the courtroom by 9 AM PDT. Interviews are not allowed on the 7th Floor. Interviews must be conducted behind the North Information Booth in the Regional Justice Center, located on the first floor near the Lewis Avenue entrance. Media parking is available for a fee in the parking lot located at Casino Center and Bonneville to the south of the Regional Justice Center. In addition, on street parking is available for a fee around the Regional Justice Center.
The Regional Justice Center is located at 200 Lewis Avenue and sits on a city block between Lewis and Clark and Third and Casino Center in downtown Las Vegas. [Google Map]
Senior District Court Judge J. Charles Thompson decided today that the preliminary hearing for Darren Mack will proceed as planned tomorrow in the Reno Justice Court.
This morning in Clark County’s Eighth Judicial District Court Senior Judge Courtroom, Judge Thompson presided over a request by Mack’s attorneys to stay the preliminary hearing based on an implied or actual bias on the part of judges in Washoe County. In addition, the defense requested that Judge Thompson disqualify the Justice Court and District Court Judges in Washoe County due to the nature of the case and the intense media scrutiny.
Judge Thompson denied the request ruling no evidence exists to show that the Justice of the Peace is unable to serve as an unbiased judge to determine if the case should be bound over to the District Court. He also refused to rule on disqualification of the District Court judges citing that the case had not been moved to the District Court, so therefore, no implied or actual bias could be shown at this time.
Judge Thompson did indicate he was willing to consider disqualifying Washoe County’s District Court Judges if the case is bound over to the District Court for trial. The preliminary hearing will proceed as planned tomorrow (Aug. 30) in Reno Justice Court.
A jury has been selected to hear the case of State v. Lozano in District Court Department 21. Opening statements will be heard at 9:15 AM Monday (Aug. 28) in DC Department 21 located on the 11th Floor of the Regional Justice Center. CourtTV will provide pool coverage for local television stations.
Jury selection has begun in the capital murder trial for Pasqual Lozano accused of Murder with Use of a Deadly Weapon, Attempt Murder with Use of a Deadly Weapon, Battery, and Ex-Felon in Possesion of a Firearm. The trial is being heard in District Court Department 21, Judge Valerie Adair. Jury selection will continue Thursday morning (Aug. 24) at 10:30 AM. Opening statements may take place Friday.
A Clark County Grand Jury has indicted Stephen Ressa on multiple counts including Murder with Use of a Deadly Weapon, Attempt Murder with Use of a Deadly Weapon, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Battery with Use of a Deadly Weapon Resulting in Substantial Bodily Harm, Battery with Use of a Deadly Weapon, Possession of Stolen Vehicle and Battery By Prisoner.
The majority of the charges stem from a September 21, 2005 event on the Las Vegas Strip that left three people dead and more than 13 individuals injured when Ressa allegedly ran his car up onto the sidewalk in front of the Bally’s casino. The final charge occurred December 22, 2005 when Ressa allegedly attacked a guard at the Clark County Detention Center. Ressa faces a total of 31 counts, 30 of them related to the September 21 incident on the Strip.
Ressa is being held on a no-bail bench warrant and makes an appearance in District Court’s Arraignment Court at 10:30 AM August 30, 2006.
Las Vegas Township Justice Court recently added Spanish language menus to the court’s Traffic Citation Phone Payment System. By dialing (702) 671-3444, customers speaking Spanish or English can pay traffic citations quickly on the phone without having to travel to the Regional Justice Center. Spanish-language menus greet customers in their native language prompting them to schedule payments or pay traffic tickets in full.
“This added feature really expands our reach into the community and provides us with a tool for helping even more people pay their tickets in full or reschedule their court dates,†said Las Vegas Township Justice Court Chief Judge James Bixler. “It speeds up the process, provides Spanish speakers with improved customer service and extends our ability to provide access to justice for a greater number of people.â€Â
The system accepts phone calls and prompts callers to choose between Spanish and English. Both menus provide customer access to traffic citation information and gives them the option to pay traffic tickets in full or schedule payments.
Customers waiting in line at the court’s traffic counter can expect the wait to take as long as two hours. The IVR phone system processes a payment in roughly three minutes. Since coming on line May 1, 2006, the Traffic Division has collected roughly $850,000 in traffic fines from customers using the system. Roughly 220,000 traffic tickets are processed by the Las Vegas Township Justice Court each year.
Monique Maestas pled guilty this afternoon to charges of Murder with Use of a Deadly Weapon and Attempt Murder with Use of a Deadly Weapon in connection to a 2003 Mesquite trailer park attack that left one child dead and another paralyzed. Maestas accepted the deal this afternoon prior to jury selection for her trial, which had been scheduled to begin today. Maestas will be sentenced by Judge Donald Mosley at 9 a.m. on September 22, 2006 in the courtroom of District Court Department 14.
The state retains the right to argue at sentencing, however, has agreed that Maestas will be sentenced to a term of life with the possibility of parole, plus an equal and consecutive term of life with the possibility of parole as to the Murder charge. This means the state has agreed that Maestas will be sentenced to a term of 40 years to life for the Murder of Kristyanna Cowan.
In addition, Maestas will be sentenced for the Attempt Murder charge to a minimum term of two (2) to 20 years, plus an equal and consecutive minimum term of two (2) to 20 years for the deadly weapon enhancement. However, the minimum sentence cannot exceed 40 percent of the maximum term of imprisonment. Judge Mosley must determine if this sentence will run concurrent or consecutive to the sentencing imposed for the Murder charge.
A Clark County Jury unanimously decided this morning to sentence 22-year-old Beau Maestas to death for the murder of 3-year-old Kristyanna Cowan and the attempted murder of 11-year-old Brittney Bergeron. Maestas pled guilty in 2005 to murder and attempted murder for the 2003 attack in a Mesquite trailer park that left Cowan dead and Bergeron paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Maestas will be formally sentenced by Judge Donald Mosley at 9 a.m. on August 30, 2006.
