Carns appears in court, case’s investigation continues
William “Bill” Carns, a former Nye County Republican Party chairman, briefly appeared in Justice of the Peace Kirk Vitto’s courtroom yesterday for a status hearing following his February court appearance and initial January arrest.
“Mr. Carns, today was the time and place given for the prosecution to prepare and present a charging document,” Vitto told Carns. “Obviously, as of this morning, they haven’t. It doesn’t mean that they won’t. It only means that at this juncture, they haven’t.”
At the start of the short hearing, Senior Deputy District Attorney Daniel Young explained where the state currently is in the case’s process.
“The investigation in this case is still ongoing,” Young explained to Vitto. “We’re still receiving pieces of evidence from the sheriff’s office, as most recently as this morning. We’re going to ask for more time.”
Once the justice of the peace finished hearing from the state, he further elaborated on the case’s future to Carns.
“They [the state] have a year to file misdemeanor charges, two years to file gross misdemeanor charges, at least three years to file felony charges,” Vitto told Carns. “There are some situations where the statute of limitations is longer for certain offenses.”
Vitto added, “Other than that, you’re released without obligation to the court at this juncture, and if the prosecution files charges, we’ll see you at some point in the future.”
Case background
Carns was arrested on January 31 on suspicion of multiple offenses, including child sexual abuse image-related charges and weapon possession, according to the original Nye County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) arrest summary.
NCSO administration previously told the Pahrump Valley Times that Carns was released on bail the same day he was taken into custody.
On Feb. 5, the day of Carns’ initial court appearance, the Nye County District Attorney’s office told the Pahrump Valley Times via email that it is investigating metadata in the case and that charging decisions cannot be made until it is fully downloaded and analyzed. The DA’s office also added that child sexual abuse image provisions were recently amended, which will impact charge filings under the new or old law.
Carns was previously arrested in 2015 on suspicion of allegedly impersonating a police officer in Pahrump.
Prior statements
Following Carns’ arrest, the Nye County Republican Party released a statement on Feb. 2 that read in part, “At the same time, clarity matters. Bill Carns is an organizer and leader of the Nye County Republican Club alongside Joe Burdzinski. The Nye County Republican Club has zero official standing within the Republican Party.”
The Nye County Republican Club also released a statement on Feb. 2 from the its president, Joe Burdzinski:
“Bill Carns has not been involved with the formation of the Nye County Republican Club and also is not involved with current or future activities.”
The Nye County Republican Party released another statement on Feb. 4 that read in part, “A statement issued by the group calling itself the “Nye County Republican Club” claims that Bill Carns played no role in the formation or activities of that organization. The claim is false, disingenuous, and part of an obvious public relations spin effort following serious criminal charges.”
Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com
