Public defender assigned

A justice of the peace appointed a public defender Friday for a paramedic accused of stealing drugs from the Clark County Fire Department.

Las Vegas police have accused 35-year-old Samuel Bond, who according to the county made $102,405 in 2006, of burglarizing 11 fire stations and ambulances to steal narcotics to feed his prescription drug addiction.

He was placed on unpaid administrative leave Sept. 28, which is why Bond, a county firefighter and paramedic for the past six years, requested that a public defender represent him in court.

"I haven't been to work," he said softly in Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa's courtroom.

The Fire Department had taken his key card, which provided Bond access to fire stations, and placed him on paid administrative leave sometime before his arrest as authorities began to suspect he was behind the robberies, a Fire Department spokesman said.

Police said they had him under surveillance Sept. 29, when they caught him breaking into an ambulance with a crow bar in front of Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center.

He confessed to police his involvement in each of the 11 robberies, according to a police report.

He has two children, ages 10 and 7, according to the police report. They live with their mother, who has primary custody, Bond told the judge.

"Without any income, I believe he would qualify for the services of the public defender," Saragosa said.

Bond was booked on 22 counts, but Chief Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen said he'll only pursue 16 of those felonies and one gross misdemeanor. He said he decided to drop the lesser misdemeanor charges of possession of stolen property.

Bond is out of custody on $25,000 bail and is living with his father on house arrest.

According to the police report, he confessed to developing an addiction to pain medication after being injured on the job.

He said he started stealing pain medication from friends and gradually moved up to injecting morphine that he would find in his ambulance, or steal from a patient's dosage, the report said.

Saragosa grilled him about his personal prescriptions for anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drugs and ordered two random drug tests for Bond each week. She also recommended he receive drug counseling.

Corrections officer David Devaney said his office can check the levels of those drugs found in Bond's urine to see whether he is taking more than his prescribed dosage.

If Bond tests positive for illegal drugs or prescription drug abuse, "I will revoke your house arrest in a nanosecond," the judge threatened.

Saragosa scheduled a Dec. 6 preliminary hearing, where she will determine whether there is enough evidence to warrant a trial in District Court.

Contact reporter K.C. Howard at khoward@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-1039.