Las Vegas Metro Police re-arrested a repeat offender on Wednesday, weeks after a Las Vegas Justice Court judge ordered his release to an electronic monitoring program.
Joshua Sanchez-Lopez, 36, has a criminal record that includes drug convictions, involuntary manslaughter, and 35 prior arrests. Metro officers arrested him for the 36th time after finding him in possession of methamphetamine, a shaved mail key, fraudulent ID, and credit cards, according to the department.
Sanchez-Lopez now faces 27 new felony charges, including mail theft, child abuse, and possession of credit or debit cards without the cardholder’s consent.
The case is part of a legal dispute between Metro and the Las Vegas Justice Court over which has the authority to decide whether a defendant poses too great a risk for electronic monitoring. Deputies took Sanchez-Lopez into custody in January on a grand larceny of a motor vehicle charge.
Judge Eric Goodman set bail at $25,000 and ordered him released to high-level electronic monitoring, essentially house arrest, if he posted bond. Metro refused, citing Sanchez-Lopez’s history of failing to appear in court, prior bench warrants, and a 2020 incident in which he ran from officers while armed with a gun, adding he had later posted on social media bragging about being chased while wearing an ankle monitor.
On Feb. 5, Judge Goodman ordered Metro to release Sanchez-Lopez to the program, warning the department it could face contempt sanctions if it failed to comply. Sanchez-Lopez, released under the court’s pre-trial GPS monitoring program, was re-arrested by Metro on Wednesday.
Legal experts say the dispute stems from Nevada law, which requires judges to set the least restrictive bail while allowing sheriffs to administer their electronic-monitoring programs. Former Clark County District Attorney David Roger, representing the Metro officers’ union, stated the law gives sheriffs discretion to refuse high-risk defendants.
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