Slaying suspect charged in attack on jail officer

Scott Bedard, who is charged with murder in the execution style slaying of 33-year-old Bill Hanlon Jr. -- the son of state board of education member Bill Hanlon Sr. -- has been indicted on charges of attacking a jail corrections officer.

The March 18 incident occurred after a court appearance when Bedard was ordered sent to the state's mental health facility at Lake's Crossing near Sparks.

Although Bedard was shackled, he is alleged to have attempted to strangle Officer Michael Ramsey in a holding cell at the county courthouse, leaving marks on the neck of his victim, according to the indictment returned Friday by the Clark County Grand Jury.

The 33-year-old defendant had been placed in the holding cell before being transferred back to the Clark County Detention Center because of an outburst in the courtroom.

Bedard is scheduled to be arraigned on the felony charge April 13 in District Judge Sally Loehrer's courtroom.

Bedard's murder trial is set for Nov. 29 in the courtroom of District Judge Jeff Sobel, who had decided that Bedard's mental condition needed further evaluation after the courtroom outburst. He could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.

Metro Police believe the murder victim had interrupted a burglary inside an office building in southwest Las Vegas early one morning in August 1997. Hanlon was shot in the head, and investigators said there didn't appear to have been a struggle.

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