Police were ‘premature’ to rule out crime in UNLV student’s death, report says

A newly released report from the Nevada attorney general’s office criticizes Las Vegas police for what it says was a “premature” conclusion that no crime had been committed when a UNLV student died after a bout in a fraternity-sponsored charity boxing event.

“Law enforcement statements that no crime had been committed were conclusory and premature, and compromised any possible future prosecutions,” according to the report, obtained by the Review-Journal on Monday night.

Nathan Valencia, 20, died after his fight with Emmanuel Aleman in November. The match, billed as the main event of the night, pitted Valencia, a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, against Aleman, of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.

The Metropolitan Police Department said it disputes the attorney general’s findings.

“After the initial event, LVMPD communicated in a timely manner with UNLV Police, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the Nevada State Athletic Commission,” police spokesman Larry Hadfield said in a statement.

“From LVMPD’s preliminary investigation, and after discussion with the District Attorney’s office, it was determined there was no criminal intent. If the Attorney General has probable cause to believe the athletic commission’s regulatory statutes were violated, or any criminal violations occurred, they have investigative and prosecutorial authority to pursue the matter.”

The event was intended to raise money for Center Ring Boxing, a Las Vegas gym that trains troubled youth.

Valencia’s condition deteriorated right after the fight. As the attorney general’s report noted, he was unable to stand as the winner of the bout was announced. When he collapsed, spectators called 911, and Valencia was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and put on life support.

Valencia was taken off life support and died on Nov. 23.

Coroner rules death a homicide

Two months later, the Clark County coroner’s office deemed the death a homicide, which by definition means that a human caused another human’s death. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the death was criminal.

The same day, the report noted, Metro released a statement saying there had been no criminality with the fight’s venue, the Sahara Event Center, because it had a county business license that “allowed them to legally host the Fight Night event.”

The attorney general’s report alleges that Metro’s investigation focused solely on whether the Sahara Event Center could legally host the fight and that it appears Metro’s homicide unit didn’t investigate Valencia’s death.

“The Office of the Attorney General does not possess any evidence that this incident has ever been investigated by the LVMPD Homicide Section,” the report said.

After Metro leadership had conversations and a meeting with Nevada Athletic Commission Chairman Stephen J. Cloobeck in December, Metro “reiterated their conclusion that no crime had been committed,” the report said.

“Although Mr. Valencia’s death is tragic, the circumstances surrounding his death are not criminal and no charges will be filed,” Metro said in a statement at the time.

Shortly after, the state’s athletic commission, which regulates boxing, mixed martial arts, and all unarmed combat bouts in the state, referred the case to Attorney General Aaron Ford.

The determination that no crime had taken place meant that police didn’t obtain Aleman’s boxing gloves or his hand wraps as evidence, the report said.

Police also didn’t investigate whether any performance-enhancing or illicit substances were used in the fight, the report alleged.

“These items were critical to establish or rule out whether the hand wraps or gloves were tampered with, or whether one opponent had an unfair advantage over the other due to performance-enhancing or illicit substance use,” the report said.

Geordan Logan, a Las Vegas attorney who represents Aleman, declined to comment on the report but said his client did nothing wrong.

“I can tell you that nothing my client did was criminal,” Logan said.

A 10-minute fight between two young men who were friendly with each other and who wanted to raise money for charity turned out to be a “real tragedy” that changed the lives of both families.

“My client is suffering as a result of this,” Logan said. “He’s devastated by this — this whole event, everything that happened. Prior to the fight there were friendly texts going back and forth between these young men.”

Political connections, donations

On Tuesday afternoon, Cloobeck reiterated that Metro mishandled the investigation.

“They did nothing,” Cloobeck said. “It was a sham job. They didn’t do an investigation. They didn’t interview anybody.”

Cloobeck also said he asked Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, the Republican nominee for Nevada governor, to conduct a more thorough investigation of the UNLV boxing match, but Cloobeck said the sheriff didn’t do anything.

He said Tuesday his criticisms of Lombardo were not politically motivated given Lombardo’s candidacy against incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, who appointed Cloobeck as chairman of the athletic commission in 2021. Ford, the attorney general, is also a Democrat.

“How many times can you show a lack of leadership?” Cloobeck said of the sheriff.

Lombardo’s campaign responded to Cloobeck’s comments Tuesday afternoon, saying they were, in fact, politically motivated.

“Just like his boss and political godfather Steve Sisolak, Stephen Cloobeck is using his government position to do Sisolak’s political bidding,” said Lombardo spokeswoman Elizabeth Ray. “While the Sisolak Administration is the most corrupt in Nevada history, it is still disappointing to see these greasy, pay-to-play antics seep into the Nevada Athletic Commission.”

Sisolak’s office responded by lauding both the attorney general and the Nevada Athletic Commission.

“The Governor appreciates the work of the Attorney General and Nevada Athletic Commission on this important topic,” said Meghin Delaney, the governor’s spokesperson. “This was a terrible event that led to the death of a young man. The Governor looks forward to the continued work to ensure safer events in the future.”

Cloobeck is a prolific, and bipartisan, donor in politics who has contributed to the Nevada Republican Party Central Committee and the Nevada Democratic Party, as well as candidates from both, state records show.

Cloobeck has donated $30,000 to Sisolak, half after he was elected governor in 2018 and half before that, when he served on the Clark County Commission. He also gave $50,000 in 2018 to the Home Means Nevada PAC, which supports Sisolak, and another $50,000 to Sisolak’s inaugural committee, also in 2018.

Cloobeck also donated $10,000 to Lombardo in 2018, when he was running for re-election to sheriff.

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com or 561-324-6421. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter. Staff writers Glenn Puit and Sabrina Schnur contributed to this report.