Cop who testified in Binion hearing takes leave

Tuesday, Sept. 7, 1999 | 11:34 a.m.

A Nye County police detective sergeant who testified in the Ted Binion slaying preliminary hearing has gone on stress leave rather than accept reassignment while he is being investigated, according to the Nye County Sheriff's office.

Sgt. Ed Howard, who was in charge of the detective division, had been reassigned to supervisor of animal control pending an internal investigation into conflicts between his testimony and his written report regarding the Binion case.

"Sgt. Howard is not a dog catcher -- he is still a police officer," assistant Nye County Sheriff Rick Marshall said Friday.

"It is not our policy to put officers on administrative leave with pay." The policy is to reassign officers during internal investigations.

"When we told him of his reassignment, Sgt. Howard went on stress leave," Marshall said.

Howard would have been receiving the same pay and same benefits in his reassigned position, Marshall said. If the investigation clears Howard, he will return to his detective bureau job, he said.

Attempts to reach Howard were unsuccessful.

Howard testified that he was suspicious of the way Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke reacted when three men were arrested while digging up an underground vault in Pahrump and removing from it silver that belonged to former Horseshoe executive Lonnie "Ted" Binion, who was killed on Sept. 17.

Rick Tabish, Michael Milot and David Mattsen were arrested Sept. 19 in connection with the theft of about $7 million worth of silver. The three, along with Sandra Murphy, Binion's ex-girlfriend, have been charged in connection with the Binion case. Murphy and Tabish are charged in Binion's death.

Their preliminary hearing ended last week. Justice of the Peace Jennifer Togliatti is expected to rule Sept. 13 on whether the defendants should be bound over for trial in District Court.

Marshall said that the reassignment of Howard was not punishment for what he said about Lieseke.

Marshall confirmed that the sheriff also is under investigation in the matter and as a result will not participate in the internal investigation of Howard, nor in the final decision regarding the sergeant.

"When you testify as a police officer you must have absolute integrity," Marshall said.

He noted that if the investigation were to show that Howard was inconsistent in his testimony and the report he filed and the sheriff's department had taken no action, Howard's testimony could be challenged in court in other felony cases.