Thursday, Sept. 25, 2003 | 11:24 a.m.
A Juvenile Court judge on Wednesday refused to release from custody one of the alleged 311 Boyz in light of additional felony charges filed against the teen.
Jeff Hart, 17, and eight other teens had initially faced 13 felony charges each in District Court stemming from a rock attack in Summerlin that injured Stephen Tanner Hansen.
Prosecutors in Juvenile Court have since filed several other felony counts against Hart stemming from two separate violent incidents.
Hart faces seven felony counts, including robbery, burglary and assault, all with a deadly weapon, in connection with the residential robbery on May 27.
He also faces two felony counts of battery causing substantial bodily harm in a July 3 fight in which two teens were injured. Brandon Gallion, 16, is also charged in that incident.
Hart's attorney, Sean Sullivan, argued Wednesday that Hart should be released from the Clark County Detention Center and placed on house arrest. The other teens charged in the attack on Hansen have been released from the jail, each on a $40,000 bond.
But Family Court Judge Cynthia Diane Steel said it would be "irrational" to release Hart from custody without more information on the alleged robbery.
She said Hart posed a threat to the community and that it was in the interest of community safety to keep him in custody.
Prosecutors are trying to get the teens certified as adults in the two juvenile cases, which would automatically transfer the cases to the adult system.
"It is highly irregular for a young person to come through here with two certifications pending," Steel said.
Steel said it was also in Hart's best interest to remain in custody due to allegations made by several of his co-defendants concerning Hart's behavior before his arrest.
"One of the co-defendants expressed concern saying he saw Mr. Hart driving through the neighborhood talking about the case in an unusual way," she said.
Hart did not appear at Wednesday's hearing due to an error with his transport from the jail related to paperwork that someone in the district attorney's office failed to fill out, a prosecutor said. His parents attended the hearing with Sullivan.
A certification hearing is scheduled for Oct. 8. It was expected to take place Wednesday but that portion of the hearing was postponed because a certification report on the robbery case was not complete, prosecutors said.
A certification hearing for Gallion is scheduled for Oct. 1
Hart and the eight other teens face attempted murder charges in connection with the July attack that seriously injured Hansen. Hansen's face was crushed when a rock was thrown through the window of a truck in which he was riding. He has undergone several reconstructive surgeries.
Prosecutors believe Hart and the three other teens threw rocks at the vehicle but are unsure which teen threw the rock that injured Hansen.
Police say the teens are a part of a gang known as the 311 Boyz, which waged violent attacks in Northwest neighborhoods during the summer.
Clark County prosecutor Jonathan VanBoskerck said Hart's involvement in three separate cases distinguishes him from the other teens charged.
"There is a fundamental difference between multiple incidents and one incident of extreme violence," he said.
As for the attack on Hansen, "(Hart) is alleged to be one of the rock throwers," VanBoskerck said. "They're the ones yielding the deadly weapon."
In the alleged robbery, the prosecutor said the teen held a Las Vegas man at gunpoint and stole money and a computer.
"He pointed a gun at him, took money from him and barricaded him in his closet," he said. "He presents a clear and present danger in terms of the community."
In describing the July 3 fight, VanBoskerck said Hart was charged with "beating the tar out of two individuals." That fight was videotaped.
Further details of both cases were not available because juvenile cases are sealed.
But Sullivan said Hart maintains his innocence in both cases. He said the home robbery charges could have resulted from a case of mistaken identity.
Sullivan said school records also will show Hart was in school during the robbery.
"There's a total alibi defense as to this new petition," he said.
The alleged victim in the case picked Hart's picture out of a newspaper article after the attack on Hansen became public, Sullivan said. He said the man initially described Hart as having lighter hair and not having braces. Hart has braces.
Sullivan said Hart has no prior criminal record, with the exception of a "paintball incident," in which the teen was charged with firing a paintball gun at a car when he was 15.
Hart also had a marijuana charge, Sullivan said.
Sullivan said Hart's mother, a retired nurse, could keep an eye on her son if the teen were released on house arrest.
"His parents have stood by his side the entire time," he said.
VanBoskerck said Hart has always had the love and "economic blessings" of his family, but that the teen still chose to participate in violent crimes.
"It's apparent that they've done quite well to support their child," he said. "But beside all the good things his parents are doing, he still got involved in this incident."
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