Former NCSO Sgt. Horn given suspended sentence and fine

The former sheriff’s deputy who accepted a felony plea agreement last month for drug charges will not go to prison at this time, but will not be able to hired as a police officer elsewhere.

Former Nye County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Horn on Friday received a 19-to-48-month suspended prison sentence and five years probation, along with a $5,000 fine.

Fifth District Judicial Court Judge Kim Wanker also imposed six months house arrest and ordered Horn to participate in a veterans’ court diversion program in Las Vegas.

County Deputy District Attorney Michael Vietta-Kabell said Horn was sentenced on two different counts, including misconduct of a public officer and possession of a controlled substance, both felonies. Horn will not be able to become a police officer in another jurisdiction.

“The count for possession of a controlled substance will not show up on his judgment of conviction at this time but it may in the future if he does not perform satisfactorily in the diversion program,” he said. “Mr. Horn was convicted of felonious misconduct of a public officer, which is a category ‘E’ felony. It is punishable by one to four years in prison. He will still have a judgment of conviction entered against him for misconduct of a public officer.”

Vietta-Kabell said Wanker initially considered ordering Horn to participate in ‘boot camp,’ but quickly reconsidered that decision.

“Because of the issues that may cause Mr. Horn to be around people that he may have previously investigated, she decided that it would be more appropriate to sentence him to six months of house arrest,” he said. “What comes next will depend on how well Mr. Horn performs in veterans’ court as well as on his formal probation for the charges he was sentenced on.”

Horn was arrested on Jan. 25, 2014 after fellow officers orchestrated a sting involving prescription medication being stored in the sheriff’s office’s evidence room. Horn was caught stealing medication that had been earmarked for disposal as part of a sheriff’s office community program.

While waiting for Horn to show up for work the day he was arrested, officers learned that the sergeant responded to a call for service at an elderly woman’s home, where prosecutors said he took prescription medication from the woman after telling her, falsely, it had expired.

The pills were later discovered in his uniform pocket.

Horn was also charged in a separate incident from October 2012, where he collected a load of pills from the home of a woman diagnosed with cancer.

The woman later died. A caregiver had given Horn the woman’s trove of medicine to dispose of. Charging documents revealed that the sergeant pilfered morphine pills from the cache of medicine.

When he was arrested, police discovered $23,000 worth of allegedly stolen narcotics in Horn’s patrol car, according to police.

More than two years ago, Horn was initially charged with oppression under color of office, a gross misdemeanor; felony charges of misconduct of a public officer; theft against a person 60-years-old or older; theft; possession of a controlled substance; and fraudulent appropriation of property. The plea agreement avoided a jury trial.

The Department of Parole and Probation will determine exactly how long Horn has to pay the $5,000 fine.

The office will also be in charge of supervising Horn and collecting all fines and fees.