Nye DA Arabia to host conversation with local veterans

The Nye County District Attorney’s Office undertakes some of the most important work in the community, prosecuting crimes perpetrated by and on the residents of Nye County. It is a highly complex task and one that is key in protecting the people of the county but it is also one that can lead to plenty of questions by the public, who often wish to know where the DA’s office is at with certain cases, particularly those of a very high-profile nature.

In an effort to conduct public outreach and allow a forum in which residents can learn all about the various cases that are making their way through the local DA’s office, Nye County District Attorney Chris Arabia will be hosting an event next week, which area veterans and their supporters are encouraged to attend.

“The Nye County District Attorneywould like to speak to veterans and provide a Q&A session after his presentation,” local veteran and community activist Dr. Tom Waters announced in an email sent to area media and his fellow former military service members. “Veterans and their family and friends are invited to attend.”

Waters was urging every veteran in the community to head out to take part in the discussion, noting that all commanders and commandants, or their representatives, will be recognized at the presentation. “Please encourage your members to attend and be enlightened by the DA,” Waters wrote.

In recent months, the local DA’s office has seen an uptick in high-profile cases, with multiple arrests for murder resulting in formal charges from the DA and the initiation of the prosecution process.

One such case was the homicide involving a Pahrump man named Jeff Caraballo, who was accused of killing an elderly man residing in the valley. When the investigation began, Caraballo fled the state but he was eventually apprehended in Colorado and now, his case is coming to a close.

“The Caraballo homicide case has been resolved, he is going to plead to second-degree murder,” Arabia detailed at the Nye County Commission’s Oct. 5 meeting. “I wanted to tip my hat to Wes Fancher, the detective, to myself and to the defense council, Nathan Gent. Everyone did a good job on that, we got a good, fair result for the community and even for Caraballo.”

Attracting even more public attention was the murder that took place in Cathedral Canyon just over two months ago, in which 27-year-old Roy Jaggers of Las Vegas was allegedly tortured by a trio that included Brad Mehn of Pahrump and two Las Vegans, Heather Pate and Kevin Dent. All three were arrested following an extensive investigation into the circumstance of Jaggers’ death and their cases are now with the Nye County District Attorney’s Office.

As to this case, the death penalty is on the table but Arabia said there had been no hard and fast decision yet on whether the death penalty will actually be pursued for one of the defendants, Mehn.

These cases and many others are likely to be included in the discussion to take place next week, with Arabia telling the Pahrump Valley Times he was more than glad to be able to host the presentation and spend an evening conversing with the community’s veteran population.

“It’s always a privilege to have the opportunity to speak to such a great group,” Arabia stated when reached for comment. “I’m going to talk about what’s been going on with my office and take questions.”

The event will take place on Monday, Oct. 18 at the Bob Ruud Community Center in Pahrump. The presentation is set to begin at 6 p.m. “Please be seated before 6 p.m. so we can begin on time,” Waters added.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com