Tag Archives: las vegas news

Las Vegas lawyer indicted for allegedly giving cellphone to inmates

July 6, 2017 – 1:46 pm

Alexis Plunkett, a Las Vegas defense lawyer charged with improperly providing a cellphone to jail inmates, was indicted Thursday on a dozen felony charges.

Plunkett, 36, has said that she is in a relationship with one of the inmates, 26-year-old Andrew Arevalo, who also was indicted, and that she used the cellphone to make calls regarding bail, which she believed she was authorized to do.

Investigators reported that they have video of Plunkett and Arevalo kissing at least three times during afternoon and late-night visits at the Clark County Detention Center in downtown Las Vegas.

Arevalo, a documented member of the Surenos gang who goes by the nickname “Silent,” has felony convictions dating to 2009.

He was shot in the face during a 2014 shooting at Nevada’s High Desert State Prison that left another man dead. With Plunkett as his attorney, Arevalo sued the Nevada Department of Corrections and others, including the former director of prisons.

Earlier this year, Arevalo was arrested after police found him with guns, body armor and meth while driving a 2004 Chevy Avalanche owned by Rogelio Estrada, whom Plunkett also represented. Investigators said Plunkett provided her cellphone to both men at the jail.

Estrada faces similar charges but was not indicted Thursday.

Neither Plunkett nor her attorney, Michael Becker, could immediately be reached for comment.

Because there are multiple defendants, prosecutors decided to take the case to a grand jury after a lack of progress in negotiations, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Jay P. Raman. Details of the negotiations have not been made public.

Asked about the allegations against Plunkett, Nevada State Bar Counsel Stan Hunterton said: “That’s pending investigation, and I cannot comment.”

Full Read – https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/las-vegas-lawyer-indicted-for-allegedly-giving-cellphone-to-inmates/

Marijuana dispensaries may begin recreational sales in Nevada starting July 1: Report

– The Washington Times – Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Marijuana dispensaries may start selling recreational weed within Nevada as soon as July 1, the state tax board voted Monday, six months earlier than previously expected.

While Nevadans voted last November in favor of legalizing marijuana, lawmakers aren’t expected to draft rules governing the state’s recreational weed program until January 2018. With medical marijuana dispensaries already legally operating across the state, however, the Nevada Tax Commission on Monday voted 6-1 in favor of granting temporary retail licenses to currently existing pot shops.

Monday’s decision means licensed medical-marijuana dispensaries in Nevada can submit applications to the state Department of Taxation starting May 15 seeking permission to sell their wares to patrons other than patients. Dispensaries deemed to be in good standing with the state are expected to receive the first temporary licenses July 1, at which point they’ll be legally allowed to serve medical and recreational weed customers alike.

Temporary retail licenses will expire January 2018, giving the state several months to study the immediate impact of legalizing marijuana before finalizing the framework for its voter-approved recreational weed program.

Indeed, politicians have said they expect retail weed will do wonders for Nevada’s coffers, provided of course its recreational pot program gets off the ground without a hitch. Gov. Brian Sandoval said he intends for recreational marijuana to rake in $70 million within its first two years, the likes of which may not be easily achievable unless some pot shops are given a head-start.

“If we don’t adopt the regulations, we will not have a temporary program. If we don’t have a temporary program, we will not have the revenue that’s included in the governor’s budget,” Deonne Contine, the director of the state Department of Taxation, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.