County GOP leaders stand behind chairman following arrest

Members of the Nye County Republican Central Committee are standing by their Chairman Bill Carns following his arrest last week.

Carns was taken into custody after Nye County Sheriff’s deputies said he was attempting to impersonate a police officer after a traffic stop in the Walmart parking lot.

Carns noted that the committee was unnecessarily dragged into an executive committee meeting as a result.

“News of my arrest was propagated by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office via a press release issued before I was even processed,” he stated. “This issue became news only because I am chairman of the Nye County Republican Party.”

Nye County Republican Central Committee Vice Chairman Leonardo Blundo said on Tuesday, the committee met, debated and resolved to issue the following statement of support:

“The Nye County Republican Central Committee supports Chairman Bill Carns in his efforts to fight what appear to be false and merit-free allegations by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office,” the statement read. “Chairman Carns has worked hard for the republicans of Nye County and all of Nevada for years and has consistently lead (sic) by example. Chairman Carns has proven himself to be honest, forthright and devoted to the same, and is absolutely dedicated to the principles of individual rights and liberties and the free exercise thereof.”

The statement went on to say Nye County has a history of politically motivated incidents and the group will continue to stand behind its chairman.

“We expect his full vindication based upon the facts as we know them and the character of Chairman Carns.”

Carns, 45, was arrested June 1 just before 3 p.m. after Nye County Sheriff’s detectives received information the black Audi had fictitious license plates attached.

According to the press release, upon contact with detectives, Carns allegedly identified himself as a Las Vegas Metro police officer by providing a Metro personnel number in an effort to avoid a citation for alleged registration violations.

Detectives also said Carns was contacted on two previous occasions by authorities who allege he provided a Metro personnel number to avoid getting a citation, a claim Carns disputes.

Evidence of Carns’ former employment as a Metro police officer was provided by Las Vegas Metro’s Public Information Officer Michael Rodriguez, who said Carns was employed with Metro from February of 1995 to May of 1996.

“He was classified as a police officer and separated from the department in May of 1996, when he resigned,” Rodriguez said.

Carns, who is is scheduled to appear in court in August, said he feels the charges will eventually be dropped.

“I imagine that this charge will never see the light of day,” he said the day after his release. “The way to do it is fighting it in court and that’s exactly what I’ll do. I would be surprised if the DA’s office even got this case but we’ll see.”