Judge weighs dismissing federal firearms case against man accused of being fake doctor

The trial for Rick Van Thiel on federal firearms charges was put on hold this week while a judge considers a motion to dismiss the case without prejudice.

The two-day trial was set to begin Monday, but was pushed back to Sept. 6.

U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware said Monday he will rule on two pending motions – a motion to dismiss and a motion to suppress testimony – by Aug. 30 at the latest.

Van Thiel began representing himself in early August, and Boulware indicated the court may be leaning toward granting the dismissal. The judge said he believes Van Thiel didn’t fully understand what it meant to waive his right to a speedy trial while he was under the representation of a public defender.

Van Thiel was arrested in October and accused of operating an unlicensed medical practice after FBI agents and Las Vegas police assigned to the Southern Nevada Joint Terrorism Task Force raided a house at 4928 E. Monroe Ave., near the intersection of Owens Avenue and Nellis Boulevard.

Van Thiel is due in Clark County District Court on Aug. 28 for a motion hearing in that case. He is facing 30 felony charges connected to running an unlicensed medical practice, sexual assault and child endangerment.

Authorities said Van Thiel was operating the clinic out of an RV parked behind the home. Investigators found ammunition in the RV and a gun and ammunition inside a safe in a nearby trailer.

The motion to suppress in the federal case questions whether the terms of the search warrant, which police used to search the entire property and multiple trailers, was overly broad and if evidence seized from one of the trailers is admissible.

Boulware discussed whether it would be appropriate to rule on the motion to suppress if he was just going to dismiss the case. If he ruled in favor of Van Thiel on the motion to suppress, the case would get tied up in appeals and be an obstacle to starting a fresh case, he said.

Prosecutors said they would immediately seek a new indictment on the firearms charges against Van Thiel if the case is dismissed.

In a jailhouse interview last year, Van Thiel said he treated people for cancer and HIV, among other serious illnesses. Several of his roughly 80 patients have died, according to state prosecutors, but he is not facing any murder charges.

Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find @WesJuhl on Twitter.