Las Vegas police say retired cop behind anonymous letters targeting lieutenant

It was a stamp that led Metropolitan Police Department investigators to a former colleague.

And now, a retired Metro police detective is facing charges after he is accused of having written a series of anonymous letters over three years to try to discredit and damage the career of Metro Lt. Richard Meyers, who played an instrumental role in outlining the accused letter writer’s alleged failures as a detective, according to police documents and court records.

Christopher Lange, a former sexual assault section detective who retired in 2021 after he was recommended for firing, is now facing misdemeanor stalking and libel charges in connection with the letters, which were received by Metro, Meyers, or people associated with Metro, the documents say.

Lange has pleaded not guilty, according to his attorney, Jess Marchese.

According to the police documents, filed in Las Vegas Justice Court in March, Lange was behind 16 letters sent between January 2021 and January 2024. All the letters had the same goal, police alleged, and that was to cause personal and professional harm to the lieutenant.

Meyers, according to the police documents, was the Metro supervisor who had been “tasked with filing a Statement of Complaint with (Metro’s Internal Affairs Bureau) for Lange’s “alleged failures as a sexual assault detective.”

‘Escalating content and harassing nature’

Lange had been removed from his role as a detective in the sex assault unit due to allegations of Neglect of Duty, Standards of Conduct, and Criminal Case Management, according to the police documents, which offered no specifics on what Lange had allegedly done to warrant those allegations.

On Sept. 16, 2020, Lange was recommended for firing. But before a hearing on his proposed termination, Lange retired on Feb. 26, 2021, ending a career that had begun at Metro in 2002.

A police investigator wrote in documents that he believed the letter writer likely wanted the “termination or punishment of Meyers” and noted the “escalating content and harassing nature of the letters.”

One letter, sent to Meyers’ home and addressed to his wife, alleged infidelity. Thirteen of the 16 letters accused Meyers of creating a hostile work environment, making lewd comments, and sharing sexual and otherwise inappropriate memes, according to the police documents. He was also accused of providing information about cases to the media. Letters also accused Meyers of having sex at work and of engaging in unwanted touching.

None of this was true, police determined.

‘Terrorized and harassed’

With each letter sent, Meyers was investigated internally, the documents said. According to the police documents, the “results of each investigation showed the accusations to be unfounded, meaning the ‘complained conduct did not occur.’”

The letters caused Meyers to feel “terrorized and harassed since January 11, 2021,” the date the first letter was received by Metro, which was over a month before Lange retired, the police documents also noted.

After Metro’s internal affairs bureau received an anonymous letter in May 2021, investigators discovered through a QR code on the letter’s stamp that the stamp had been bought with a credit card belonging to Lange’s wife. In interviews with police, Lange’s wife said Lange would’ve had access to the stamps.

“Christopher stated he wrote at least ten (10) letters regarding Meyers,” the police documents alleged. “Christopher also admitted Meyers was the individual who wrote the (Statement of Complaint) against him, which ultimately terminated Langes (sic) employment with LVMPD, via retirement.”

Marchese, Lange’s attorney, confirmed in a text message that Lange was not arrested but instead issued a summons to appear in court “based on his lack of criminal record.” Marchese said in a text message that Lange “had pleaded not guilty and intends to assert his due process rights.”

A Metro spokesperson confirmed in an email that Meyers is still a lieutenant with Metro. Efforts to get Metro to comment on the case were unsuccessful.

A preliminary hearing has been set for July 29, court records show.

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com.