Crime Corner, Feb. 19

Pahrump man arrested on several charges tied to alleged burglary

A Pahrump man was taken into custody by police last week after he was allegedly seen burglarizing a local business.

Alexander M. Cook was taken into custody on a felony arrest by the Nye County Sheriff's Office Monday after witnesses told deputies that he was seen damaging a gate to gain access to a business, moving objects at the business and then proceeded to attempt to make entry to the business, according to police.

Cook is charged with preliminary charges of attempted burglary, two counts, attempted grand larceny, being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of burglary tools, and is being held on $21,000 bail.

After responding to the scene on the 1200 block of S. Loop Road after a burglary in progress call, sheriff's deputies saw a man behind the fence of the business and recognized him as Cook from prior incidents regarding stolen property and drugs, according to the arrest report.

Witnesses told deputies that Cook was placing items by the fence, a common move people do before stealing them, according to police.

Deputies were able to view a surveillance tape which confirmed the witness statements and displayed Cook wearing a mask to try and hide his face during the alleged incident.

Upon searching Cook, police found a mask in the front of his sweater and wire cutters in his pants pocket. Deputies also discovered a crowbar near the back of the business and damage to the rear door of the establishment.

The property owner told deputies that the damage done by attempting to pry the door open and moving the items to the front of the gate was estimated to be over $650.

When questioned about what deputies saw on the surveillance tape, Cook denied doing anything he's seen doing and then told police that he had smoked methamphetamines the day prior.

Cook was arrested and taken to the Nye County Detention Center where he has given a urine test, which resulted in a presumptive positive for amphetamines, methamphetamines, opiate, morphine, THC and Benzo.

Man arrested after alleged domestic battery of wife

A Pahrump man was arrested last weekend after an alleged domestic violence incident involving two victims.

Jonathan Clifford was taken into custody by the Nye County Sheriff's Office Saturday on three counts stemming from a domestic battery incident involving his wife and mother-in-law, police said.

The female victim told Clifford that she wanted a divorce and that's when he became violent, according to the arrest report.

Clifford proceeded to grab the victim by the arms and push her to the ground. Clifford then pinned the victim against a wall by placing his elbow on the victim's neck.

The victim told police that she couldn't scream due to Clifford's elbow being on her neck and the suspect placing his other hand on her mouth, police said.

After not being able to leave the room due to Clifford keeping her at bay, the victim's mother kicked in the door to the bedroom they were in. Once the mother entered the room Clifford allegedly threw a juice bottle, striking her in the face, police stated.

The victim's father had to push Clifford outside the residence after he attempted to go back into the room where his wife was. At that point, Clifford began to break windows on the house and kicked the front door open, according to a sheriff's deputy.

After being called to the scene by the initial victim's father, police spoke with the suspect's wife and mother-in-law and observed fresh red marks on areas that they described they were struck or choked by Clifford. The responding deputy also observed broken windows around the residence and damage to the threshold of the front door of the home.

Deputies were able to make contact with Clifford a short time later and he denied choking the initial victim, but did admit to throwing a juice bottle but said he was unaware that it struck his mother-in-law.

Clifford also stated that he had broken the windows out of the residence as he was forced out of the home and was attempting to locate his dog inside.

Sheriff's deputies took Clifford into custody after the victims' statements corroborated with the evidence on the scene and charged him with preliminary counts of domestic battery, domestic battery by strangulation and false imprisonment and was being held on $13,500 bond.

Man arrested after being found passed out at slot machine

After being found unconscious on a gaming machine inside a local bar, a local man was arrested on various preliminary charges mainly related to drugs.

Kyle Webb was taken into custody by Nye County Sheriff's Office deputies Tuesday after he was discovered passed out at a slot machine at Dotty's Casino on Highway 160, leading to the discovery of drugs and items known to be used to commit burglary.

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the casino referencing a man passed out at a slot machine. Upon arrival, the deputy attempted to wake Webb up, but was unable to after several attempts.

As medics were arriving at the scene Webb woke up and his vitals were checked by the medical responders. The suspect was unable to answer basic questions and while the medics lifted Webb's sweatshirt up to take his blood pressure, a sheriff's deputy observed a clear plastic ziplock container hanging around his neck.

The deputy could see a small baggie inside the container which contained a crystalline substance that he determined to be methamphetamine. The arresting officer recognized Webb from previous incidents and stated that he knew he had an extensive drug history.

Also located at that time was a black handgun, that turned out to be a BB gun.

After being cleared by medics, Webb was placed under arrest and moved outside of the property. While being taken to the deputy's patrol car, Webb informed him that his dog was in his vehicle and wanted to know what they could do with the animal.

Webb's car had suspended plates on it and at that point Dotty's wanted the vehicle towed off the property.

Officers were given the keys to Webb's car and upon his request they opened the door to care for the dog. The dog was found in the car, shivering as the weather was very cold outside, according to police.

Upon opening the doors to care for the dog, deputies discovered multiple items of drug paraphernalia and items commonly used to commit burglary, all in plain sight, police said.

Among the items found were a ski mask, wire cutters, prying and cutting tools, in addition to parts to an ATV-type vehicle and what appeared to be an entire dirt bike or quad motor.

There also allegedly was a large baggie with multiple unused smaller baggies that the deputy knows are used to sell narcotics, in addition to items that appeared to contain marijuana through the car.

Webb admitted to both using and possessing methamphetamine and marijuana and was placed under arrest and booked into the Nye County Detention Center on preliminary charges of possession with intent to sell, possession of burglary tools, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana one ounce or less. He was being held on $8,780 bail.

Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.