Las Vegas judge won’t reduce $8M bail in terrorism case

A Las Vegas judge denied a request to reduce the $8 million bail for a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate prosecutors say committed terrorism and other crimes.

District Judge Jennifer Togliatti called Nicolai Mork, 40, “the trifecta of risk to the community” after listening to evidence in the case.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jake Villani played a video found on one of Mork’s computers that depicts him attacking a woman inside his apartment, though he has not been charged with a crime related to that incident. The judge called it “the most profoundly bizarre video” he has seen.

Defense attorney Nicholas Wooldridge argued that prosecutors have made several other allegations against Mork to keep his bail at such a high figure.

“There’s a nefarious reason why that woman was in his apartment,” said Wooldridge, who in court papers wrote that prosecutors’ allegations were “littered with conjecture and speculation.”

Wooldridge, who saw the video for the first time Tuesday, did not elaborate on his comment about “a nefarious reason.”

Mork faces eight counts, including unlawful acts related to weapons of mass destruction and possession of component of explosive or incendiary device. Investigators found “highly reactive chemical components in large quantities” in his apartment, Villani wrote in a court document. Prosecutors have said they expect to file more charges against Mork.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.