Metro Police cite Herrera for battery

Jen Lawson

Friday, April 2, 2004 | 11:35 a.m.

Metro Police cited former Clark County Commission chairman Dario Herrera for battery Thursday morning after he allegedly punched a man at a construction site on the Strip.

"I was defending myself and I didn't mean to hurt anyone," Herrera told the Sun. "I've already apologized to the family."

It started with an argument between Herrera and the man -- whom neither police nor Herrera would identify -- at the Hawaiian Marketplace shopping center, which is under construction in front of the Polo Towers on Las Vegas Boulevard South just south of Harmon Avenue, police said.

Herrera, 30, is a development consultant for Torino Companies, the developer building the shopping center, and the argument was over a construction dispute that escalated, Metro spokesman Sgt. Rick Barela said. Police were called just after 10 a.m.

The man, the son of a would-be tenant at the shopping center, was checking on the construction and confronted Herrera about "saw something he didn't like," Officer Jose Montoya said.

One person who was at the fight but refused to be directly quoted claimed the man Herrera struck had allegedly mocked Herrera over his legal troubles.

Paramedics treated the man's injuries at the scene.

Barela said that despite Herrera's high profile as a six-year officeholder who is facing a federal trial for allegedly being corrupt, "We're handling it like it was just any other citizen."

Metro officers typically do not arrest people for misdemeanor battery; they cite them, police said. The offense carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000.

Herrera's attorney, David Brown, wouldn't comment on the incident.

Herrera already had plenty of legal trouble before the battery citation. He is to be tried Aug. 17 on public corruption charges. While he was a county commissioner, Herrera allegedly accepted payments from a strip club owner in exchange for easing tipping and lap dancing rules. He has pleaded not guilty.com