The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is defying a judge’s order to release a serial offender, arguing in a Nevada Supreme Court petition that it has the final say in keeping the 35-time arrestee behind bars.
The police department said its perspective on whether Joshua Sanchez-Lopez should remain in custody is more important than that of Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Eric Goodman, who ordered the felon released and placed on GPS monitoring in January.
Police rejected that request and have kept Sanchez-Lopez locked up, igniting a legal battle in which Judge Goodman is threatening to hold Clark County Sheriff Kevin McCahill in contempt for not complying with his ruling.
“We have to take a look at that and say, ‘Is this somebody who our electronic supervision program can monitor safely in the community?’” Mike Dickerson, assistant general counsel for Las Vegas police, told KLAS-TV, which first reported on this story. “This is an issue of public safety.”
Authorities nabbed Sanchez-Lopez, 36, on an auto theft warrant this year. Judge Goodman ordered the felon to be put on house arrest and electronic monitoring despite prior convictions for involuntary manslaughter and drug charges.
Police ignored the request, telling the judge that Sanchez-Lopez has a history of skipping court hearings.
Police also cited a 2020 arrest in which Sanchez-Lopez, who was wearing an electronic ankle monitor, ran from officers while armed.
According to the Las Vegas police’s petition before the state’s high court, they argue that the sheriff has final say on whether a suspect is too dangerous to be released from jail.
Sanchez-Lopez’s legal team called the police’s stance “flat wrong.”
“It is the job of the elected judge to decide whether someone charged with a crime should be released and under what conditions,” public defender P. David Westbrook said in a statement. “The idea that a Metro employee can overrule a judge’s release order and keep someone locked up should worry anyone who believes in the Constitution and the rule of law.”
Las Vegas police responded in a statement and criticized Judge Goodman’s opinion on the matter.
“The Justice Court of the Las Vegas Township has the authority to release dangerous people into our community. However, the sheriff will not violate the law to assist those few judges who seek to use LVMPD’s electronic monitoring program in disregard of public safety and the safety of the dedicated LVMPD corrections officers who administer the electronic monitoring program,” police said in a statement.
Sanchez-Lopez is due back in court Thursday for his next hearing on auto theft charges.
