criminal justice

Dennis Osborn, deputy Nevada Highway Patrol chief, will assume the duties as chief of the NHP beginning Monday. He replaces former NHP Chief Troy Abney who left the department in November 2013 after serving nearly 20 months with the agency.
The announcement was made today by Department of Public Safety Director James M. Wright.

Enrollment at both rural campuses of Western Nevada College has increased this fall, after six years of state budget cuts that drastically reduced programs and available classes.

Full-time equivalent enrollment, which measures the number of credits a student takes and is a key factor in determining state funding levels, rose 4 percent at the Fallon campus to 415 and 3 percent at the Douglas campus to 371. At the Carson City campus, full-time equivalent headcount rose by 2 percent, indicating that individual students are enrolling in more credits.

The District Attorney’s response to concerns about his indecision on the death penalty in the McCune murder prosecution is deeply disappointing.

The August 29, 2013 "opinion" questioning the District Attorney's decision-making in a pending death penalty case reveals a lack of understanding of the criminal justice system.

The Stanton Arms Apartment complex received some new playground equipment over the weekend, thanks to local law enforcement officers and Partnership Carson City.

About $3,000 went toward monkey bars, basketball hoops and tetherball courts at the complex. Partnership director Kathy Bartosz said the playground equipment was paid for through the Office of Criminal Justice Assistance and the partnership as part of an ongoing outreach to connect kids to law officers and to provide activities for them.

The apartment complex is between Edmonds and Woodside.

The Carson City Sheriff's Office plans on our first firing of the Carson City drug incinerator on August 22 at 1:30 in the afternoon at the city corporate yard. We are awaiting our final EPA authorization, but believe it will be delivered well before the planned date. Also now up and running is our public drug drop off box at the Front Desk Lobby of the Sheriff's Office sponsored directly by Partnership Carson City.

CARSON CITY — For the fourth consecutive year, Western Nevada College will graduate its largest class in history. The class of 2013 is 505 students strong, with 530 degrees and certificates being issued.

Four students will receive Bachelor of Technology degrees in construction management, and three students will graduate with bachelor’s degrees as part of WNC’s teacher preparation partnership with Nevada State College. The graduates span 60 years, from the youngest at age 17 and the eldest at 77.

The Carson City District Attorney's Office presented the mock trial of State v. Alexander T. Wolf at Carson Montessori School on Monday for the 4th through 6th grade classes.

As part of the Office's community outreach and partnership with local schools, the District Attorney's Office created the mock trial based on the story of the “Three Little Pigs” to teach students about the criminal justice system as well as increase critical thinking and reasoning skills, according to a news release.

RENO, Nev. — Thirty-two Wolf Pack student-athletes representing 12 teams have applied for graduation at the University of Nevada this winter. Ceremonies for the 2012 Winter Commencement are set for Saturday, Dec. 8 at Lawlor Events Center.

CARSON CITY – If there was any question about whether the gun debate is a controversial topic in Nevada as well as nationally, a clear answer was provided today at a meeting of the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice.

A proposed discussion on assault weapons was removed from the agenda by a vote of the panel before it could even begin.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced Gerald Gardner has been named chief of staff effective September 5. Gardner takes over for Heidi Gansert who has served as the governor’s chief of staff for the past twenty months and who announced her resignation yesterday.

CARSON CITY – A legislative panel today voted to request that a bill be drafted and introduced in the 2013 session requiring the Clark County District Court to create a Veterans’ specialty court.

A Carmichael, Calif., man has been arrested in the 31-year-old murder case of Richard Swanson, South Lake Tahoe police report.
On March 28, 2012 Andrew Sanford, 50, of Carmichael, was arrested and booked in the Sacramento County Jail for the murder of Richard Swanson. The robbery/homicide occurred on Aug. 14, 1980 in South Lake Tahoe at what was then the Shell Gas Station located at the “Y” on the corner of Lake Tahoe Blvd and Emerald Bay Road.

The Tri-NET Narcotic Task Force, working in conjunction with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Street Enforcement Team (SET), the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Investigators, and the Santa Cruz California Police Department arrested 26 year-old Joseph Perez and 25 year-old Oscar Madriz, both of Santa Cruz, California, on charges of trafficking and sales of cocaine. The arrests were made on March 2.

Staff Sgt Matthew J. Brauer, a 2001 graduate of Carson High School, recently received his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration - Law Enforcement from Park University in Great F...

CARSON CITY — The Secretary of State’s Securities Division has issued a cease and desist order to a Wyoming company doing business in Nevada to stop selling shell corporations registered with his office because it is a securities violation.

CARSON CITY – Nevada has a new weapon in the fight against problem gambling.
A five-year strategic plan to provide treatment to the state’s problem gamblers took effect July 1.

Nevada spends more than $300 million a year on corrections, and advocates for children believe there's a way to reduce that number by funding early learning programs.

By Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong
Reported crimes in Carson City hit its lowest point during February since the Sheriff’s Office began collecting and analyzing the trends. There were 112 incidences of major crimes, such as homicide, rape, robbery, burglary and theft. There were 122 less severe crimes reported in the community for the same period. In total, the 234 reported crimes is 22 percent less than any monthly rate previously reported since collection began. The previous low for any month was 294 incidences.

CARSON CITY — Nevada Department of Public Safety investigator Elizabeth Conboy has been appointed the agency's investigations chief.

Conboy is a fifth generation Nevadan who was born and raised in Reno. She attended the University of Nevada, Reno where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and a Masters degree in Public Administration.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons today announced the retirement of Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Jerry Hafen. Hafen is a life-long resident of Clark County and was appointed to the top job at the agency in early 2008.
He will step down Dec. 31.
“Jerry Hafen has proven to be a respected leader in law enforcement in Nevada and I am proud of his accomplishments as DPS Director,” Gibbons said. “Jerry has proven time and again that the safety of the citizens of Nevada is his top priority.

Today U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using a new biometric information sharing capability in Clark County that helps federal immigration officials identify aliens, both lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked into local law enforcement custody for a crime.
The capability is part of Secure Communities, ICE’s comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the U.S.

CARSON CITY – It may be welcome news for those who have entry level jobs, but a more than 9 percent hike in the minimum wage to take effect Thursday in Nevada will have a chilling effect on hiring, particularly for teens, according to one national group.
A Nevada union official disagrees, saying the minimum wage hike isn’t to blame for the state’s record jobless rate or the high unemployment levels seen among teens in the workforce.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Supreme Court Justice James Hardesty said a program the state initiated a few years ago to pardon selected illegal resident inmates so they could be deported to free up space in the prison system was in his view successful.
Hardesty said the review resulted in 106 nonviolent inmates being granted conditional pardons in exchange for a waiver of any immigration hearing and agreement to be deported to their country of origin.