Commissioner Collins charged with misdemeanors for discharging firearm

Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins is facing misdemeanor charges for unlawfully discharging a firearm within the city limits and disturbing the peace, the North Las Vegas city attorney's office announced Wednesday.

Collins was drinking and shooting on his North Las Vegas property on the night of July 3, according to a police report.

Collins is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 24 in the city's Municipal Court. Each charge carries up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Collins, who calls himself the "cowboy commissioner," did not immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday. Collins is running for re-election to a third term on the County Commission.

According to the police report, Collins shot a tree and a wooden post with a handgun and was shouting. Neighbors called the police after hearing at least seven shots fired.

No one was injured. Loud music blared from his truck, and Collins had cut down the shrub with a chain saw. One witness told police she saw the "muzzle flash of a firearm" and watched as Collins put the gun in his truck.

Other witnesses refused to give statements to police in hopes of remaining anonymous, and that was reflected in several parts of the report, which were redacted.

Sgt. Tim Bedwell, Police Department spokesman, said Wednesday that Collins was charged because public safety was at risk.

"If you live on a ranch in the middle of Nevada, firing a gun is probably not dangerous," Bedwell said. "In the city limits, where we all live close together, it is dangerous. That's why the charge is there. What we have to do is avoid who this person is who did this and think more about the actions this person did."

The incident occurred on Collins' property in the 4200 block of North Decatur Boulevard, near West Craig Road. The home sits on more than an acre of land.

The 62-year-old Collins told police he "was mad at his tree so he took his firearm out of the truck and began to shoot at the tree and a post in his backyard. Collins stopped talking ... and he advised he wanted to take back that statement," according to the report. Eight officers responded to the scene that night. Officers noted empty beer cans and a whiskey bottle on the ground as well as unopened containers of alcohol on Collins' truck tailgate.

Officers did not conduct a blood or breath test on Collins because he was not arrested, and officers felt "the danger would be ended" by seizing his weapon, Bedwell said.

Police detained and handcuffed Collins and read him his Miranda rights, but he was never arrested. According to the report, he cooperated with officers. Police confiscated Collins' .40-caliber handgun, which was legally registered, as well as a 10-round magazine and eight live rounds of ammunition. There also was an empty box of ammunition on the front seat of his truck.

The police report conflicts with what Collins earlier told news outlets about the incident.

Collins, whose district includes North Las Vegas, would not confirm whether he fired a weapon that night, saying only that he performed his "usual celebration" for the Fourth of July. He did not give details. At that time, he said he attended two holiday celebrations, went home and rode his horse. He said when he was out riding that "rockets, Roman candles and M-80s were flying over the fence."

In a written statement, City Attorney Jeff Barr said after reviewing the evidence the case "should go forward in order to remain consistent with the city's firm stance against illegal gunfire," and cited the city's decade-long campaign of public awareness, education and enforcement to curb the dangers of illegal gunfire.

The 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.

Collins also votes in his capacity as a county commissioner to determine the budget for Wolfson's office.

Wolfson sent the case on to the Nevada attorney general's office, which declined to prosecute, citing "insufficient evidence."

Contact reporter Kristi Jourdan at
kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.