$500,000 bail set for officer in shooting

Bill Gang

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Bail was set today at $500,000 for Metro Police Officer Ron Mortensen in the drive-by shooting death of a Las Vegas gang member.

Although Mortensen's attorney, Frank Cremen, asked that bail be set at $100,000, Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo said he had concerns that the nature of the shooting raised concerns about the safety of the community.

Mortensen, 31, is charged with murder in the death last month of 21-year-old Daniel Mendoza after six shots were fired from a truck toward a group standing outside an apartment at 537 McKellar Circle.

One bullet hit Mendoza in the heart, but no one else was injured.

Another Metro officer, Christopher Brady, came forward more than a day later and admitted being the driver of the truck. He named Mortensen as the shooter.

Cremen argued that Mortensen is a family man and not a flight risk and therefore should be granted the low bail. But Deputy District Attorney John Lukens pointed to the seemingly random nature of the Dec. 28 incident as a community safety issue.

Lukens did not ask for a specific bail amount.

Since the prosecutor again indicated this is not a death penalty case, Abbatangelo decided not to hold Moretnsen without bail, but did set it at the high level.

The district attorney's office is expected to present the case to a Clark County grand jury on Thursday for possible indictment Friday. If that occurs as expected, the case will be assigned to a district judge for trial and Cremen can renew his bail motion before that judge.

At an earlier hearing, District Attorney Stewart Bell said that because of the high-profile nature of the case, "It is important the public understand that everyone is treated equally. If he gets bail when others don't, the public's perception of the justice system may be damaged."