Las Vegas judge refuses to release kidnapping suspect

A federal judge on Thursday denied a request for the pretrial release of a suspect in the violent kidnapping of a Las Vegas woman.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Koppe said Sophie Brown, 19, must remain in jail while awaiting trial because she has nowhere to live in Las Vegas.

Brown was arrested in New Mexico with Jack Morgan, 31, after Las Vegas police said a woman was taken from her apartment near Decatur Boulevard and Flamingo Road, bound by chains and dragged into a white van.

A New Mexico police officer later stopped a similar van, and as the officer approached the van, “he could hear screaming and yelling ‘help me,’” arrest reports said.

The attack left the victim with cuts and bruises on her arms, leg, neck and face. Arrest reports said Morgan planned to confine her in a cave in New Mexico and brainwash her into marrying him.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Cushman said that although Brown does not have a criminal record, there is a risk that she would fail to come to court for future hearings.

Las Vegas attorney Joshua Tomsheck is representing Brown and conceded the fact that Brown had nowhere to live, but said he was looking for a drug treatment center with an available bed. The judge said the court could revisit the issue if he finds one.

Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Follow @WesJuhl on Twitter.