Searchlight justice dies after stroke

Wendell Turner, justice of the peace in Searchlight, died Tuesday of complications from a stroke. He was 72.

Turner, a former highway patrolman in Nevada and California, was in his third six-year term as justice of the peace in the rural community about 50 miles south of Las Vegas.

Turner first won election to the seat in 1994.

"With his law enforcement background he brought a lot to the table," said Goodsprings Justice of the Peace Dawn Haviland.

Turner was instrumental in getting the Searchlight Justice Center built in the late 1990s. Before the center opened, court was held in a 924-square-foot trailer along U.S. Highway 95.

Turner was one of eight rural justices of the peace in Clark County.

The Clark County Commission will appoint someone to the bench to serve until the next election cycle.