Former County Commissioner Tom Collins pleads no contest to DUI
Former Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins pleaded no contest Tuesday to driving under the influence in connection with a December car crash.
Collins, whose legal name is Clarence Weldon Collins Jr., completed a DUI school and a victim impact panel, according to his attorney Michael Pariente.
Police logs indicated Collins was involved in a crash with injury near Flamingo Road and Koval Lane on Dec. 11.
"I stand up and take my lumps," Collins said of his plea.
About two hours before the crash, Collins tweeted a photo of UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center featuring the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo sign. A day earlier, Collins posted a tweet that showed him with his mother at the rodeo.
The Thomas & Mack is about a mile and a half from the car crash site.
Collins served on the County Commission starting in 2005 and resigned in August 2015.
His resignation letter to Gov. Brian Sandoval said that he was leaving "due to family matters that I will be dedicated to for the next several months that will certainly impact my service to my constituents in District B and throughout Clark County."
Collins told the Review-Journal in September that he will run for mayor of North Las Vegas in 2017.
After his court appearance, Collins said, "I'm not supposed to announce yet, but everybody knows it."
This is not the "cowboy commissioner's" first run-in with the law. In 1991, he was charged with reckless driving after crashing a truck he was driving, injuring himself and two other men. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.
In July 2012, his neighbors called North Las Vegas police after hearing at least seven shots fired on his property. He did not face criminal charges.
In August 2012, Collins pleaded no contest to charges of disturbing the peace and livestock at large after a bull escaped from his property and injured a 42-year-old woman.
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker
