LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An accused serial rapist who’s in the USA illegally and withdrew his plea moments earlier than a decide was going to condemn him has a brand new court-appointed lawyer.
Carlos Nava, 49, appeared in Clark County District Court docket Thursday morning. Decide Christy Craig set his subsequent court docket date for Nov. 13 to provide Nava time to get acquainted together with his new lawyer earlier than she units a brand new trial date.
Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo posed on X after the 8 Information Now Investigators reported on Nava’s case.
“This case is a tragic reminder of why Nevada must continue cooperating with federal immigration authorities,” Lombardo posted. “Under my watch, Nevada will never be a safe haven for dangerous illegal criminals who defy our laws and endanger our communities.”
Democratic Assemblywoman Selena Torres-Fossett reposted Lombardo’s submit and added, “Weaponizing tragedy to push anti-immigrant rhetoric doesn’t make Nevada safer. It makes us more divided. We deserve better.”
Carlos Nava, 49, pleaded responsible via an “Alford plea” to at least one felony cost of sexual assault with use of a lethal weapon on July 30, based on court docket data. (KLAS)
Nava unexpectedly withdrew his responsible plea and expressed he needed a brand new lawyer on Sept. 25. He didn’t admit guilt, coming into an Alford plea to at least one felony cost of sexual assault with use of a lethal weapon on July 30, based on court docket data. By an Alford plea, a defendant acknowledges prosecutors might have sufficient proof to result in a conviction however doesn’t admit guilt.”It’s really hard for someone to maintain ‘I didn’t do this’ when his sperm is in places that indicate he probably did,” Clark County Deputy District Lawyer Julia Barker stated, referring to DNA tying Nava to the crimes.By the plea deal, eight fees towards Nava had been dropped, however now they’ve been reinstated.Barker stated Nava might have as many as 17 victims. Six have been recognized, whereas 11 are unknown, and two had been 15 years outdated on the time of the alleged sexual assaults, based on Barker.Barker stated Las Vegas Metro police discovered Nava’s ‘trophies,’ 17 pairs of underwear that “that were folded, kept in a backpack which also had latex gloves in it and tied up with a rubber band.”Police arrested Nava in reference to the intercourse crimes in 2022. At the very least one sufferer got here ahead after police issued a press launch about Nava. A grand jury indicted him in 2023.Barker stated Nava focused intercourse employees, who usually might not report these kinds of crimes to police.”Every single time, he has a knife and in most of his situations, he is holding that knife to these individuals’ throats,” Barker stated. “Then he forcibly rapes them.”
An arrest report obtained by the 8 Information Now Investigators detailed the next timeline:July 10, 2022: A intercourse employee advised police that she agreed to have intercourse in change for $100 with a person who picked her up in a white truck in entrance of The Orleans On line casino. The girl advised police that the person refused to cease performing a intercourse act, held a knife to her throat, eliminated a condom and sexually assaulted her, stole her cash and telephone, shattered a glass bottle on her head, and chased her as she tried to go away. The girl escaped and ran bare to a close-by Walgreens for assist. Detectives reviewed surveillance from close by companies.Eleven days later, police stopped Nava. A search warrant was issued for his DNA and to course of his white truck for proof, based on police. Detectives stated they discovered a backpack with latex gloves and 17 totally different pairs of girls’s panties folded, stacked and with a rubber band round them.”Though rare, people who commit sexual assaults related crimes have been known to keep property belonging to victims as a trophy of the incident,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Division arrest report said. Nava was arrested. In October, the DNA was linked to 4 different intercourse crimes.On Aug. 12, 2003, an underage particular person stated a person picked her up they usually agreed to have intercourse. She stated the person took her to an deserted home the place that they had consensual intercourse. A buddy of the alleged sufferer referred to as police. She determined that she didn’t need to prosecute, based on the arrest report.On Feb. 4, 2010, a girl stated that she mistakenly bought right into a automotive that she thought was her buddy’s in Henderson. She advised police that after contained in the automotive, the person driving pulled out a knife, locked the doorways, and stated, “I want sex.” She additionally advised police that the person demanded that she take away her garments and sexually assaulted her. A healthcare employee who carried out a sexual assault nurse examination advised police that she believed that the alleged sufferer was mentally delayed.On March 16, 2013, a intercourse employee advised police that whereas she was on Boulder Freeway soliciting, she bought right into a automobile. She stated the driving force didn’t like the value that she was providing, put a knife to her throat and sexually assaulted her. She advised police that she was scared as a result of she didn’t need to go to jail for being a runaway.On July 17, 2015, a girl advised police that whereas she was on the lookout for marijuana on Desert Inn Street, she bought right into a automotive. She stated that the driving force pulled out a knife, advised her to take her garments off and sexually assaulted her. On Nov. 2, 2022, police talked to the alleged sufferer once more. She stated that she was really a intercourse employee soliciting on Boulder Freeway. She stated that she had escaped from the suspect’s automotive by climbing via the driving force’s aspect window and ran from the automotive bare. When police confirmed her panties present in Nava’s possession, the lady recognized a pair as the identical model that she would have been sporting.The 8 Information Now Investigators beforehand reported that Nava re-entered the USA illegally a minimum of eight instances since 2002, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson stated in 2023. Whereas Nava was granted voluntary elimination to Mexico a number of instances, he was additionally eliminated after the location of immigration detainers a minimum of twice. He had been encountered by regulation enforcement in California, Arizona and Las Vegas.Nava’s legal historical past consists of arrests for battery and home violence, and he was final faraway from the U.S. to Mexico in 2020, based on ICE.The plea settlement addressed whether or not a defendant is just not a United States citizen and said that they may very well be deported and unable to achieve United States citizenship.One girl recognized as a sufferer confirmed up in court docket on Sept. 25. As a result of Nava withdrew his responsible plea, she didn’t have the chance to supply a sufferer affect assertion. Barker stated the lady now not engaged in intercourse work.
The 8 Information Now Investigators reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement about Nava Thursday. The company deferred to prosecutors. The 8 Information Now Investigators reached out to the Clark County District Lawyer’s Workplace Thursday afternoon.To achieve investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, e-mail [email protected].
