Attorney Lord arrested after a no-show for bench trial

Local attorney Nancy Lord was arrested on Saturday after failing to appear in court last week for her bench trial.

Prosecutors said Lord, on numerous occasions, exceeded the limits of what the Nye County code allows as far as how many dogs one can keep on their property.

Lord's bail was set at $50,000 in Pahrump Justice Court on Tuesday.

Nye County Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Vieta-Kabell said Lord's case began nearly a year and a half ago.

"We have also alleged that her dogs have been running at large and there are numerous allegations from witnesses that her dogs were in fact running at large on several different occasions," he said. "We have also leveled various allegations involving failure to get her dogs licensed, provide humane conditions for them and rabies vaccinations. Her case covers a large gamut of animal code violations."

Pahrump Justice Court Judge Margaret Whitaker issued a bench warrant for her arrest after she failed to appear Thursday.

Lord's case was originally scheduled late last year.

Vieta-Kabell said his office has been frustrated, due to several delays.

"Here we are today, where the state was prepared to proceed again with more than a dozen witnesses present and Ms. Lord did not show up at all," he said. "I don't know the reason why she did not show up at this time, but the pattern on this case is one of delays, so the state requested a bench warrant and we were very happy to see Judge Margaret Whitaker issue the bench warrant."

Additionally, the prosecutor noted previous delays have created headaches for those scheduled to testify in the bench trial.

"This is problematic for everybody," he said. "It's problematic for the victims who took time off of work and take time out of their lives to come to court. In this case, it's happened to them twice where they have taken time out of their day to come down here and see no results because of the actions of Ms. Lord."

Nye County Ordinance Number 430 requires animal owners with more than five dogs or cats over the age of six months on any property, to obtain a residential kennel permit, while anyone with more than 10 dogs or cats over the age of six months must obtain a commercial kennel permit.

The ordinance went into effect on Oct. 8, 2012 after it was approved by the Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 18, 2012.

In July 2013, Lord filed a complaint in District Court against Nye County Animal Control seeking either a restraining order against animal control from removing the animals from her property, or expenses to cover her move to remedy the situation created by Ordinance 430.

In Sept. 2014, Nye County Animal Control arrived at Lord's home on Pechstein Street to recover roughly three dozen dogs after previous attempts to assuage concerns raised by her neighbors failed.

Vieta-Kabell meanwhile, noted the DA's office is getting increasingly frustrated with Lord's apparent inability, or unwillingness to come into compliance with the ordinance and showing for scheduled court appearances.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com