Accused pimp held on $1 million bail in beating

A man accused of being a pimp and charged with beating a prostitute for months until her injuries required an amputation and skin grafts will not have his bail lowered, a judge ruled Wednesday.

North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Natalie Tyrrell said Robert Sharpe III’s bail will remain at $1 million. If convicted, Sharpe faces life in prison for what authorities called one of the worst examples of a pimp’s violence in local history.

Sharpe, 28, was arrested by Las Vegas police last week after a monthslong investigation that began in June, when a young woman wandered into University Medical Center with broken bones, bruises and infected wounds all over her body.

Clark County prosecutor Marc Schifalacqua held up photocopies of the woman’s wounds in court, offering to show the evidence to Tyrrell before she made her ruling about bail.

Tyrrell declined Schifalacqua’s invitation to view the photos.

The woman was reluctant to tell her story to police but eventually described a harrowing tale of abuse at the hands of Sharpe, who she said convinced her to become his prostitute after meeting her at a bus stop in March.

She described being beaten with a metal pole, burned with an iron and waterboarding at the hands of Sharpe during her four-month stay at his North Las Vegas home at 2502 Spanish Fork Ave.

The woman broke a finger while defending herself, she said. The finger wasn’t treated and became gangrenous. Doctors amputated it a few months later.

The woman told police Sharpe refused to let her leave, and she only escaped after Sharpe tried to sell her to another pimp. But the woman was nearly dead, so Sharpe left her at the Wendy’s restaurant across from the hospital, she said. He told her to lie about her injuries, she told police.

Sharpe’s most trusted prostitute, Kariah Heiden, was the person who “showed her the game” and often watched her at night to ensure she couldn’t escape, the woman told police.

Heiden was also arrested. Her bail was initially set at $500,000, but Tyrrell lowered it to $250,000 on Wednesday.

After court, Heiden’s mother said her daughter was also a victim of Sharpe’s manipulation.

“He’s a bad, bad man,” Sara Heiden told the Review-Journal. She said her daughter was pregnant with Sharpe’s baby during the months she lived with him and the woman. Sometimes Kariah Heiden would leave Sharpe, but he’d coax her back with fake promises or threats, she said.

Kariah Heiden gave birth to Sharpe’s baby before she was jailed. Sharpe’s family has custody of the baby, she said.

“Now my granddaughter is living with that family of pimps,” a tearful Sara Heiden said.

Police said Sharpe is related to Raymond C. Sharp, a pimp given three life sentences by a District Court judge in 2012 for kidnapping and living off the earnings of a prostitute.

Sharpe learned in court he was facing 16 felonies, including kidnapping, sex trafficking and assault. He shook his head slightly and muttered to himself, but said nothing.

On Sunday Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith said prostitutes are often ignored victims in Las Vegas, whereas animal lovers often pack the courtroom when a dog is abused.

On Wednesday the Review-Journal was the only news outlet present for Sharpe’s hearing. Almost every outlet, however, attended the hearing of Gloria Lee, the woman accused of trying to set fire to her puppy boutique in January.

None of the puppies were harmed.

Contact Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Find him on Twitter: @blasky.