Collins pays fines on gun and bull charges, surrenders weapon

Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins pleaded no contest Thursday in North Las Vegas Municipal Court on misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace and livestock at large.

Collins paid $2,274 in fines but won't serve jail time. Each charge could have carried up to six months in jail.

When reached by phone Thursday afternoon, Collins said he had no comment.

Judge Catherine Ramsey also dismissed a third charge of unlawfully discharging a firearm within the city limits. Collins forfeited the handgun, a .40-caliber semi-automatic Sig Sauer.

The gun charges stem from a July 3 incident on Collins' property, in which neighbors said the commissioner fired at least seven times at a tree and a wooden post. According to the police report, Collins was drinking, shooting and appeared to be cutting down a tree with a chain saw while music blared from his truck.

The livestock charge came last weekend after a bull owned by Collins escaped his enclosure and charged a 42-year-old woman, sending her to the hospital with minor injuries, according to police. A cow also escaped from Collins' property but did little damage. The bull and the cow were returned to Collins' property less than three hours after the initial report.

The no contest pleas are not an admission of guilt but acknowledge the prosecution has enough evidence to prove its case.

The shooting case was initially sent to the Clark County district attorney's office as a gross misdemeanor.

But District Attorney Steve Wolfson recused his office, citing a potential conflict of interest as Collins voted to appoint Wolfson earlier this year to replace David Roger. Wolfson sent the case to the Nevada attorney general's office, which declined to prosecute, citing "insufficient evidence."

Contact reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 383-0440.