Former jail guard hit with new charge

Kim Smith

Monday, July 2, 2001 | 10 a.m.

A former Clark County Detention Center officer scheduled to go on trial in September on sexual misconduct charges is back in jail.

Mark Bennish, 38, was arrested in May on charges of impersonating a police officer during an argument at the Mirage.

Prosecutors will ask District Judge Mark Gibbons on Tuesday to set Bennish's bail at $60,000. He had been out on his own recognizance on charges of abusing his authority as a corrections officer to take liberties with several female inmates.

According to court documents, Bennish was working as an airport shuttle bus driver when he got into a dispute with a taxi driver over customers. In the middle of the dispute, the documents allege, Bennish pulled out a police badge to end the disagreement.

Bennish was arrested after being discovered by a Metro officer later that day.

Deputy District Attorney Clark Peterson, in court documents, alleges the May incident is another indication that Bennish likes to abuse his authority.

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