Rhodes expected to plead not guilty

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, Aug. 31, 2000 | 11:17 a.m.

North Las Vegas City Councilman John Rhodes is expected to plead innocent Friday morning to a second set of felony charges alleging he tried to defraud his insurance company after a 1997 burglary.

Rhodes was scheduled to enter a plea this morning, but the arraignment was delayed until Friday. His attorney, Robert Lucherini, has said that Rhodes would plead not guilty.

Rhodes has already pleaded innocent to one felony count of insurance fraud and one felony count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses after an alleged burglary in 1998.

The attorney general's office plans to ask District Judge Kathy Hardcastle to combine the indictments.

On Monday Hardcastle denied a motion by Rhodes' attorney to dismiss all of the charges.

Meanwhile, transcripts from the grand jury that handed down the latest indictment, released Wednesday, point to a number of inconsistencies and an apparent rift between the city administration and the police department.

The latest indictment stems from an alleged burglary on Feb. 10, 1997, at Rhodes' East Diana Drive home.

The attorney general's office charges that Rhodes was not living at the home at the time and that he did not have any personal property in the home.

Michelle Cummings testified she had been living alone at Rhodes' home for four months. Cummings -- who said she was dating Rhodes -- said she paid him monthly rent, had the utilities in her name, and that Rhodes did not have any property in the house.

Cummings called police Feb. 10, 1997, after she discovered a broken window in the bedroom and feared someone was in her home.

North Las Vegas Police Officer Gary Robert King was first to respond to the call, and according to grand jury testimony, he saw no indication of a burglary. The broken window was closed and locked, with a hole the size of a "human head."

"It appeared somebody just broke the window and fled," he told Deputy Attorney General Greg Hojnowski.

A waterbed with a headboard blocked the window, and King said an intruder would have had to clamber over it to get inside. Glass shards and a fine layer of dust were not disturbed.

Cummings told King that nothing appeared to be missing, so the officer left and classified it as vandalism, meaning no report was filed.

North Las Vegas Police Detective James Jackson testified that nine days later, someone from the City Manager's office called him and said Rhodes wanted to talk to him regarding an alleged burglary.

After the phone call, Jackson instructed King to go back to the Diana Drive home and prepare a police report.

King filed the burglary report Feb. 19, and although Rhodes was not mentioned, King testified that the councilman had arrived at the home 15 minutes after police arrived.

Cummings, on the other hand, insisted Rhodes was out of town the night of the burglary.

On March 4, 1997, Rhodes contacted Jackson to report a $3,800 Rolex Submariner watch and a $400 Toshiba videocassette recorder were taken in the burglary. Jackson prepared the follow-up report for the items stolen as well as a second report July 22, 1997, when Rhodes called him to report a $3,702 yellow gold wedding set with diamonds had also been stolen.

State Farm reimbursed Rhodes $5,250 for the items.

Jackson, who investigates crimes against persons including murder, robbery and rape, said he isn't usually called out on burglary cases. He testified he thought he was asked to get involved because of a personal relationship he had with Rhodes as a board member of the police officers union.

At the time there was a strained relationship between city administration and the police department, Jackson testified.

"It was important to memorialize (Rhodes') response due to what was going on at the city at the time," Jackson said. "If it were any other citizen, they'd be told to come down to the station to fill out a report."

If Rhodes is convicted of a felony, he would be required to step down from his council seat.