Former Boulder City constable, on trial, found dead

Former Boulder City Constable Larry Markotay shot and killed himself at Sunset Station on Tuesday, on the second day of his trial in District Court on burglary and other charges.

Chief Deputy District Attorney J.P. Raman, who was prosecuting Markotay, said Wednesday that detectives told him Markotay had shot himself in a room at Sunset Station.

In the wake of his death, Senior District Judge Sally Loehrer dismissed the jurors and closed the case.

Markotay, 44, faced eight charges in connection with a break-in at his ex-girlfriend's home and the theft of several firearms on Valentine's Day 2010, including one count each of burglary with use of a deadly weapon and theft and three counts each of grand larceny with use of a firearm and possession of stolen property.

Before the jurors left the courtroom Wednesday, Markotay's lawyer, Roger Harris, read them a brief note from Markotay's family asking them to remember the former constable as a "kind and good man" who was dedicated to his job.

Afterward, Harris declined to comment on his client's death.

"This is a mourning period for the family, and I'm going to respect that," he said.

Outside the courtroom, Raman described Markotay's death as an "extremely sad situation."

When Markotay failed to show up for the trial Tuesday, authorities checked every jail and hospital in the Las Vegas Valley but could not find him, Raman said. The trial then proceeded under Nevada law without Markotay.

The Clark County coroner's office late Wednesday ruled Markotay's death a suicide, saying he died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Henderson police spokesman Keith Paul said officers responded to a call at 5:20 p.m. Tuesday on a possible suicidal subject staying in a room at Sunset Station.

Markotay's family members contacted police, indicating they had not heard from him and were concerned for his safety, Paul said.

When officers entered the room, they found Markotay's body with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Paul said.

According to a Boulder City Police Department arrest report, the burglary at the home of Markotay's former girlfriend, Cathleen Winterrowd , occurred about 1 a.m. Feb. 14, 2010.

Winterrowd had been eating dinner at a restaurant with others and returned home to find four weapons missing.

She called police and reported she thought Markotay had stolen the firearms. Only the guns Markotay had given her were missing, according to the report. A digital camera was also missing. Winterrowd told police Markotay knew she had taken pictures of the guns with the camera, the report said.

According to the report, she told police she had broken up with Markotay months earlier after a four-year relationship. After the breakup, he became obsessed with her, constantly calling and emailing her in attempts to rekindle the romance, she told police.

Police had been called to her home once before in September 2009, when Markotay showed up intoxicated. He was not arrested.

On Feb. 22, 2010, Markotay was arrested on a drunken driving charge after crashing his 2003 Ford Crown Victoria into a light pole and fleeing the scene. Traffic investigators found two of the guns reported missing from Markotay's ex-girlfriend's home, the report said.

In a police raid a month later, Boulder City officers recovered about 85 firearms from Markotay's home, office and personal storage facilities.

They also found more than two dozen badges belonging to various agencies, including a Boulder City police captain's badge.

Markotay, who served as constable for 15 years, resigned in March 2010, citing personal reasons after being charged in the burglary case.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Contact Francis McCabe at fmccabe@ reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.