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Wetlands Park crackdown decreases crime

In the case of the Clark County Wetlands Park and Sunrise Trailhead over spring break, no news is good news.

It meant no illegal bonfires, large object dumping, vandalism, vehicle abandonment, fighting, illegal discharge of firearms or murders.

“They (a coalition of the Metropolitan Police Department, Clark County Park Police and Bureau of Land Management officials) made sweeps, as promised, and there were no notable events,” said Metro Officer Larry Hadfield, a spokesman for the department. “Apparently, everything worked out.”

At a March 17 news conference at the park, 7050 Wetlands Park Lane, an interagency effort was announced to crack down on crime, set to coincide with the Clark County School District’s spring break, which was March 21-25.

The area around Sunrise Trailhead at the far southern end of Hollywood Boulevard has been the site of much of the illegal activity. Enforcement of regulations there have been complicated by a mishmash of federal and county lands surrounding Wetlands Park, including land controlled by the county, the BLM, the Bureau of Reclamation and the city of Henderson.

Sunrise Trailhead sits on an intersection of the jurisdiction of law enforcement from the BLM, Metro and Clark County Park Police.

Geovany Garcia, 17, was shot and killed in the early hours of Sept. 5 when a large party at the park turned into a brawl and a shootout. Three other people were shot and wounded during that incident, and no arrests have been made in connection with the homicide. Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

Lt. John Liberty of the Metropolitan Police Department’s southeast area substation said that homicide spurred the department to increase patrols in the area.

Authorities were concerned that the area in and around Sunrise Trailhead might be the site of more parties over spring break as the weather warmed and youths were out of school.

“We’re doing the sweeps and some flyovers,” Liberty said. “We’ve got multiple shifts out here. There are some cameras, both permanent and temporary ones. We’ve got a lot of different irons in the fire.”

Calls for police service at the park had increased 40 percent from 2013-15. Sweeps of the area began in December, and since that time, calls for service have gone down 30 percent. There haven’t been any violent crimes since Garcia’s death.

Metro reports that as the weather warms up, more illegal activity in the area occurs. Brad Sones, acting chief of law enforcement for the BLM’s Southern Nevada District, said the winter and spring months are the most active. Much of the area that the BLM covers requires more effort to reach, and the heat tends to keep casual lawbreakers away.

Despite that, Sones said the increased attention to the area seemed to have done the job.

“It was calm and peaceful over spring break,” he said. “We wrote some minor citations for some drug violations, some off-road travel and some shooting stuff.”

Illegal weapons discharge is one of the items that County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani cited as an issue she’d like to see addressed during the March 17 conference.

“If you want to discharge a gun, do it where it’s allowed, not where you put people at risk,” she said. “We will come after you.”

The area had been used for target shooting for decades before the park was built, and some people haven’t adjusted to the infill of the valley, which makes the practice dangerous as well as illegal.

“There are a lot of public lands available for target shooting,” said Kirsten Cannon, a public affairs specialist for the Southern Nevada District of the BLM. “You can’t do it in the Las Vegas Valley, Red Rock, Sloan or around the southeast corner of the area around Pahrump.”

Cannon noted that most other areas were open to target shooting, as long as the shooters aren’t shooting over a trail or roadway, and they pick up their the target.

The coalition of law enforcement hopes that its efforts will continue to keep the area safe and curtail illegal and dangerous activities in the park and area around it.

“This is a united team effort,” Giunchigliani said. “We’re asking the community to be our eyes and ears so we can head off any problems.”

Visitors and residents are encouraged to call 311 to report any suspicious activity in the area and to call 911 to report actual crimes in progress.

To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.

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