A dispute between the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and a local judge over the release of a repeat offender with 35 prior arrests is headed to the Nevada Supreme Court, raising questions about who decides whether a defendant is too dangerous to be released on electronic monitoring.
The case centers on Joshua Sanchez-Lopez, 36, a convicted felon whose criminal history includes dozens of arrests and prior prison time for drug and involuntary manslaughter convictions, according to records cited by KLAS.
Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Eric Goodman ordered Sanchez-Lopez released on electronic monitoring if he posted $25,000 bail after his January arrest on a charge of grand larceny of a motor vehicle, KLAS reported.
But Metro declined to release him into the program, citing prior bench warrants, failures to appear in court and past violations of the department’s monitoring program.
“We have to take a look at that and say, ‘Is this somebody who our electronic supervision program can monitor safely in the community?’” Mike Dickerson, LVMPD assistant general counsel, told KLAS. “This is an issue of public safety.”
After Metro refused to release Sanchez-Lopez from the Clark County Detention Center, Goodman ordered the department to comply and warned it could face contempt sanctions if it did not, according to KLAS.
In response, Metro attorneys filed a petition with the Nevada Supreme Court on March 9, seeking a writ of prohibition against the Las Vegas Justice Court.
