Esmeralda sheriff will be stuck with DA

Monday, Dec. 6, 2004 | 9:13 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- Esmeralda County District Attorney Bill Schaeffer says he will continue to do his job but expects continued tension with Sheriff Ken Elgan.

Earlier this year, Elgan filed a lawsuit to remove Schaeffer, alleging the district attorney neglected to do his duty. But District Judge Robert Lane dismissed the lawsuit Thursday, permitting Schaeffer to remain in office.

Afterward, Schaeffer said, "I will be able to work with the sheriff's office but there will still be tension between me and the sheriff."

The sheriff could not be reached for comment. He filed a District Court suit Aug. 25, saying Schaeffer had failed to prosecute at least 10 criminal cases in which there was sufficient evidence to proceed. In addition, Elgan said, Schaeffer rarely attended meetings of the Esmeralda County Commission despite the fact that he is supposed to serve as the commission's legal adviser.

Esmeralda County, according to 2003 population figures, has slightly more than 1,100 residents.

Schaeffer, who lives in Battle Mountain in Lander County, maintained there were glaring errors in the suit by the sheriff. He said two of the criminal cases were dismissed by the justice of the peace, not the district attorney's office. In another case, the suspect had pleaded out and the case never reached the district attorney's office.

He said that in some of the dismissed cases charges were refiled after some problems were fixed. For example, in a DUI case, he said the Nevada Highway Patrol failed to get the information to his office on time so he dismissed the case. But he then refiled the charges after the report arrived.

Schaeffer also said he has missed only one of the regular meetings of the County Commission in two years, and even then he was available by phone from his sick bed.

The district attorney said the sheriff, in filing the suit, was trying to distract the public from his own department's failure.

Schaeffer was district attorney in Lander County for more than two terms. He said he was appointed, then elected, survived a recall election and was re-elected.

In Esmeralda County, there's been a rapid turnover of district attorneys. Schaeffer said his near two years in office is longer than two of the last three district attorneys.

In 1994 Steve Evenson was elected district attorney. Schaeffer said towards the end of Evenson's term he faced a recall effort and resigned. His replacement, Bob Reeve, was elected in 1998. In July 1999, Reeve faced a recall and lost the job to Harry Kuehn. After about one year in office Kuehn resigned and returned to his former job as acting public defender for Esmeralda County. Reno attorney Patty Cafferata was appointed to succeed Kuehn. Schaeffer than filed for the office in 2002 and was elected to the position.