Admitted killer found near death is recovering

Keith Paul

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 1999 | 11:05 a.m.

An admitted killer, who was found near death in his Clark County Detention Center cell last week, is recovering in University Medical Center, but he refuses to say what happened to him.

Metro Police say they believe whatever caused his condition was self-inflicted.

David W. Crawford, 33, who pleaded guilty in August to murder in the March 1997 shooting death of 26-year-old Gloria J. Dugan, was listed in serious condition this morning.

Metro Police interviewed Crawford Monday, but he refused to talk about what caused him to be found unconscious about 3:45 a.m. Thursday. Crawford was taken to the hospital and put on life support after being found.

"He didn't care to talk about it," said Sgt. Kevin Manning of Metro's homicide unit. "We believe it was probably self-inflicted."

Police don't suspect Crawford's cellmate was involved. He was the one who found Crawford motionless in bed and hit an emergency alarm to summon help, Manning said.

Once Crawford is well enough to be released from the hospital, he will head back to jail, said Deputy Chief Bill Young of the Detention Services Division. Crawford is under guard while in the hospital.

Crawford will undergo a psychiatric evaluation once back at the jail and not put back into the general jail population right away, Young said.

Crawford attempted suicide in the early-morning hours before Dungan's body was found in her Orange Grove Lane home on March 25, 1997. Nye County sheriff's deputies were called to a Pahrump house that day and found Crawford with his arms slashed by razor blades, according to court records.

His case gained some notoriety when District Judge Jeff Sobel balked at letting Crawford remain free on $360,000 bail for one more Christmas with his family before a January sentencing date. Crawford faces at least 40 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

Crawford, who had been out on bail for more than two years, pleaded guilty to murder on Aug. 26 and walked out of the courtroom free on bail, but the judge called a hearing about a week later. On Sept. 9, Sobel ordered Crawford held in jail until sentencing leading Crawford's attorney, Scott Bindrup, to accuse the judge of bending to media pressure in revoking the bail.