Miller remains in custody with bail

Nevaeh Miller, 18, remains in custody, with bail, for charges in connection to the murder of Joey Perry, after her preliminary hearing on Wednesday morning, Aug. 13, at the Pahrump Justice Court.

“Quite frankly, anybody that’s willing to assist a murderer, in my mind, is an absolute danger to the community and I’ve already argued this,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Keith Brower during the hearing.

Compared to her last court appearance, Miller hardly interacted with the press this time, only looking into the camera a few times before her hearing. Miller fidgeted with her chains and fingers while waiting.

Miller’s attorney, Karen Hanks, asked Justice of the Peace Michael Foley, if Miller could be released from custody on her own recognizance for her charges. Hanks claimed that Miller struggles with mental health issues and her release would allow her to seek proper help.

“Her mental health is suffering right now because she’s in a jail and not going to her counseling sessions that she was doing prior to getting involved in this,” said Hanks.

Hanks alleged that Miller’s mental health struggles might have been the reason her statements led to her arrest.

Brower strongly objected to these mental health claims throughout the hearing.

“There’s no proof before this court that she has any mental health issues. No documentation has been presented,” said Brower.

Miller was arrested on July 22 on a domestic battery charge. While interviewing her in custody, detectives became suspect of her involvement in the July 5 shooting of Joey Perry.

Carlos Blakely, 19, and Anthony Aguilar, 18, were arrested as suspects in the days following the shooting.

Two Nye County Sheriff’s Office detectives, Wesley Fancher and John Tolle, testified as witnesses during the Wednesday hearing.

They explained that they monitored Blakely’s phone calls while he was in custody. One particular call, in which Blakely spoke with a woman, ultimately led them to Miller.

“She injected herself into this unnecessarily, recklessly, in my opinion, because she’s a child, quite frankly,” said Hanks during the hearing. “She’s 18, but she’s a child.”

According to the arrest report, during Miller’s initial interview on July 22, she gave false and misleading information about the location of Blakely’s cellphone.

The report confirmed Blakely didn’t have any cellular devices on him when surrendered to police in Las Vegas on July 7.

The same arrest report said that Miller, “committed the crime of obstruction by willfully making untrue and misleading statements to law enforcement.”

“At the end of the day, it really is just a comment that wasn’t true,” said Hanks. “That she thought was funny, or comical, or whatever it is she called it, a joke at one point.”

Miller’s previous statements to police regarding the location of Blakely’s cell phone became a key point of discussion during the hearing, drawing attention from both sides.

“What she has done, whether it’s couched in terms of, ‘This was harmless’, or ‘It was just a big joke,’ was to absolutely run detectives around for days and days on end to try to find a cell phone and misdirect them and continue to misdirect them,” said Brower.

Hanks asked Judge Foley to consider releasing Miller with preventive measures to keep her out of trouble, suggesting a strict no-contact order prohibiting communication with other suspects in the case, along with an ankle monitor to ensure compliance.

“I’m still concerned about it too. Those can be removed, people can just disappear if they want to,” said Foley in response. “I don’t know what her resources are.”

Foley ended the hearing by saying, “I just have too many concerns about this. I’m going to maintain bail on this,” denying Hanks’ request to release Miller on her own recognizance.

Miller remains in custody, still facing charges with her bond remaining the same at $100,000 or $50,000 cash.

Miller is due back in court next week on Wednesday, Aug. 20, for a continuation of her preliminary hearing.

From the courtroom, Miller was heard sobbing in the halls of the Pahrump Justice Court, after her hearing ended.

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com