Court experiences trickle-down theory

Wednesday, May 31, 2000 | 11:36 a.m.

Las Vegas Municipal Court usually finds itself flooded with customers after a three-day holiday weekend.

But this past weekend it was real water, not just traffic citations, causing the problem.

A plumbing problem in the City Hall Jail above the court caused water from a shower to leak down into one of the court's office areas on Memorial Day.

The water buckled the court ceiling and cascaded onto a computer work station, destroying one keyboard. The flooding did not disrupt any court operations Tuesday.

"Periodically, an inmate will either take a sheet or towel or something and stuff it into a drain and it will leak down into Municipal Court into our work area," court administrator Michael Havemann said.

Mike Sheldon, the city's Detention and Enforcement director, said he didn't think an inmate caused Monday's problem.

"The few problems we've had have just dealt with the plumbing and the ability to fix the pipes in an old building," Sheldon said.

Whatever the cause, bad pipes or bad intentions, the problem occurs about two or three times annually, Havemann said.

"It will require a major fix at some time," he said. "They'd have to shut down the whole court and work on it for three or four weeks."