Arrest after infant's death stirs discussion on rights of inmates

Twenty-year-old Ryan Lopez has been sitting in jail without an attorney or bail for more than a week, even though he has not been formally charged with a crime.

Metro Police arrested Lopez on July 4 for alleged murder and child abuse in connection with the death of his girlfriend's son, 4 1/2-month-old Anthony Rippke, who died July 3.

Lopez will remain in the Clark County Detention Center at least until his next court appearance on Friday, 13 days after his arrest. But the case raises questions about whether Clark County's district court system continues to violate inmates' civil rights.

In 1995, U.S. District Judge Philip Pro ruled that the county was unconstitutionally holding individuals in jail for up to eight days without seeing a judge. The county subsequently enforced Pro's ruling by bringing all arrested individuals before a judge within 48 hours, excluding weekends.

But Pro also ruled that prosecutors weren't required to file formal charges at that first appearance before the judge. The county public defender's office typically won't assign an attorney to an individual who cannot afford representation until formal charges have been filed.

"Although we can not represent Lopez or file any formal motions until charges are filed, someone from our office will see him today or tomorrow to advise him of his rights," said Phil Khon, Clark County deputy public defender in charge of homicide.

In Lopez' case, the county district attorney's office convinced the judge to grant a continuance while keeping the accused incarcerated. But some Las Vegas defense attorneys believe the state should require the county to file formal charges by the initial appearance and assign a public defender at that time to indigent persons such as Lopez.

"The DA gets as much time as they need as long as the judge says it's OK -- that's the issue," said one attorney, who requested anonymity. "Is it appropriate? No. It is a violation of civil rights."

Justice of the Peace Doug Smith said the continuance was warranted for Lopez because of the seriousness of the case. But Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said Lopez is at a disadvantage because he is poor.

"In Clark County you can be brought to jail and held as long as 30 days without ever being charged of a crime," Peck said. "In many cases, people are then released with no charges ever being filed.

"Most of us would be outraged at the idea we could be incarcerated for 30 days without being charged. It denies poor people rights that most of us take for granted."

There are no guarantees that Lopez will even be charged at Friday's hearing. Mike Cherry, a special public defender for the county, said "it's not right" to continue to hold inmates without charges.

"Release the person and then summons them," he said. "You don't hold someone just because they don't have an autopsy back yet."

Both Peck and Cal Potter, a Las Vegas defense attorney who helped fight the county in the case heard by Pro, said the 1999 Nevada Legislature should address situations involving poor people who remain incarcerated without charges or legal representation.

"The seriousness of the offense by itself is not the requirement for a continuance," Potter said. "There has to be a reason for the continuance.

"Once you have counsel, you can file appropriate motions. Anyone who is going to sit in jail for a period of time without counsel can't make bail and has no one to make a pitch for him. You have one set of rules for people with money and a whole set of other rules for people without money."

Peck said the high cost of litigation makes it difficult to wage a court challenge on civil rights issues such as the appointment of attorneys for the poor. Potter also said he believes the Legislature would be more sympathetic to the plight of poor inmates.

"I don't think the state courts are concerned with civil rights," Potter said.

Clark County Public Defender Stewart Bell agrees that representation should be done earlier in the court process.

"As a general proposition, I believe the system works better when inmates have counsel early on in the process. But a continuance is always valid if the judge believes the time is reasonable."

Prosecutors haven't focused only on Lopez. Formal charges also may be pending against the victim's mother, 21-year-old Tajeria Rippke.

"We have forwarded our findings to the district attorney to determine whether there is cause to arrest the mother. We don't feel she was the one that caused the injuries, but there is a doubt as to whether she could have prevented them," said Lt. Tom Monahan of Metro Police's division of Crimes Against Youth and Families.

Monahan said Lopez was a suspect because he was the primary caregiver.

"We are confident he was the one responsible for the injuries. The coroner's office still has to do tests, but there were injuries not consistent with Mr. Lopez's explanations. There was probable cause to make an arrest."

On June 30 an ambulance transported the infant to University Medical Center.

"When my girlfriend left for work, he (Anthony) was lying on his stomach. I went to the bathroom, heard him take a deep breath, and I saw his back wasn't moving and I didn't hear him breathing," Lopez said in a telephone conversation from his jail cell earlier this week.

He called 911 and was directed by an operator on how to perform CPR, which he did for 30 minutes, Lopez said. The baby was later put on life support and died. Lopez was shocked when the police showed up at his doorstep to arrest him for alleged child abuse.

"It hurt real bad, that was my son," said Lopez, who is not the infant's biological father. "I couldn't murder my own son. Here I am in a holding cell, being called a 'baby killer,' and I couldn't hurt my son."

Although waiting for the coroner's report, Monahan said he believes the child's injuries were inconsistent with natural causes and consistent with child abuse.

Rippke is being investigated by Sandy Durgan, a Metro crime investigator. Rippke was told by Durgan that the child allegedly died from liver and brain hemorrhaging and that the baby had six broken ribs and bruises.

Durgan did not return repeated calls.

But Rippke says she doesn't believe the charge, and while she can explain some of the allegations, she is certain her boyfriend is not guilty of child abuse.

Rippke said her son had been a patient at Columbia Sunrise Hospital from mid-May to mid-June because of twitching in his leg and arm. The baby's condition could not be explained by doctors, she said. He was allegedly prescribed Dilantin, an anticonvulsant medication. Upon the baby's release, Rippke said she watched her happy baby change because of the medication.

"Anthony was so happy and playful, but after he was put on Dilantin, his mood changed. He just wanted to sleep, he didn't want to eat, he wasn't playful," she said.

On June 26, Rippke brought the baby back to the hospital because the twitching had resumed and she was concerned about possible side affects. The baby was checked and sent home with more medicine, she said. He was given another checkup June 29. One day later he was lying in a hospital room on life support at UMC's Intensive care unit where he later died. Rippke blames it on the medication.

"I have researched the drug (Dilantin) and have seen that it has side effects: it can cause comatose, bleeding in the brain and liver, easy bruising, sleepiness and death," she said.

In some rare cases with children, the drug can cause frequent breaking of bones, unusual bleeding (such as nosebleeds) or bruising, according to the Consumer Reports Complete Drug Reference.

Spokesmen at Sunrise and UMC hospitals would not comment due to patient confidentiality.

If it is true that her son's ribs were broken, she said it could have happened when Lopez administered CPR on her son. She has no doubt that her boyfriend did not hurt her son.

"He was so proud of his son, he took the baby everywhere. He was a good father, there were no signs of abuse."

Lopez's mother, Connie Lopez from Del Rio, Texas, also is living though what she calls a nightmare. She arrived here to console her son and Rippke last week.

"I can not see him hurting anyone or anything," she said. "I don't know what to think, and people don't want to tell us anything. I feel helpless. I know my son is innocent, I'm his mother."

Because of Lopez's arrest, the family said they have not had time to mourn, but in their faces are lines and shadows of intense grief. But they smile when they look at pictures and speak of the baby they adore and greatly miss.

"I don't want this to happen to another child," Connie Lopez said. "If a mother sees the medication and sees how the child is reacting, take him off or get a second opinion. It (Dilantin) is not a good medicine. Right then (when Lopez told her of the side affects) I said he (Anthony) shouldn't be taking that medicine.

"Anthony was my life, and now I'm going to lose Ryan -- I can't do it," Rippke said.

Staff writers Steve Kanigher and Bill Gang contributed to this story.

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