Former detective evades indictment

By Matt Pordum

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005 | 9:46 a.m.

A grand jury refused to indict a former Metro detective on theft charges Wednesday.

George Gregg Pease, a former Metro Police detective, was charged with three counts of converting and controlling property without authorization regarding two unmarked police vehicles and a gasoline credit card.

The grand jury's refusal to indict Pease prompted prosecutors to drop all charges against him.

A declaration of warrant and summons accompanying the theft complaint alleged that in fuel costs and depreciation of both vehicles, the police department suffered $1,860 in losses beginning Nov. 1, 2003, as a result of Pease's actions.

Pease's criminal case in Las Vegas Justice Court was dropped after he agreed to pay an undisclosed amount of restitution to Metro.

Pease made headlines eight years ago when on May 14, 1996, during an altercation, he used his knife to slice the neck of vagrant Henry Rowe, a 50-year-old former casino floorman who had become homeless, then shot him at point-blank range in the forehead, killing him.

Rowe was one of three people killed by Pease while Pease was on-duty in the 1990s. All three uses of deadly force were ruled justifiable, but Pease was eventually transferred from patrol work to a desk job. He subsequently resigned from the force.