Suspect spoils opportunity to stay out of jail

Friday, March 4, 2005 | 11:12 a.m.

A judge placed an alleged member of the 311 Boyz in custody this morning for violating the judge's order to stay out of trouble for a year by getting arrested twice and also having an outstanding warrant for a domestic battery charge.

In August 2004 Cherry fined Dominic Harriman $2,000, but did not place Harriman on probation in connection to a rock attack that left a teen disfigured in July 2003. But Cherry did order Harriman to stay out of trouble for a year.

Cherry remanded Harriman into custody this morning and while bailiffs placed him in handcuffs the judge said Harriman had not only not stayed out of trouble as order, but had become "almost front page news of late."

Because Harriman violated the terms of his plea agreement by getting into trouble with the law, he now faces up to a year in prison for the charge of conspiracy to commit burglary he pleaded guilty to in connection with the rock attack that injured 18-year-old Stephen Tanner Hansen.

Cherry had Harriman taken to jail with no bail amount and scheduled a sentencing date for April 5.

Chief Deputy District Attorney would not comment on what sentence he would argue for against Harriman saying simply he'd "wait and see."

Harriman's new attorney, Richard Schonfeld, said he only knew about Harriman's Feb. 28 arrest in Clark County, and knew nothing about Harriman's arrest in Nye County on Feb. 23 or the outstanding domestic battery warrant in Henderson.

Schonfeld said it was "unfortunate he (Harriman) has been placed in custody because the underlining problem is substance-abuse-related."

The defense attorney asked Cherry to place Harriman on house arrest because he was actively trying to place Harriman in substance abuse treatment facility.

Cherry rejected the request, but did say he would remain open to the possibility of sentencing Harriman to drug court or an inpatient treatment facility if the Department of Parole and Probation's pre-sentencing report indicated he would be a viable candidate for such treatment.

Cherry said Harriman would begin receiving credit for time served starting this morning and would continue to receive such time up until his sentencing.

The latest revelation about Harriman's domestic battery warrant stems from incidents in Henderson, but neither the prosecutor handling Harriman's case or his attorney, Richard Schonfeld, were aware of the charge.

Henderson Police spokesman Keith Paul said police on Wednesday issued a warrant for Harriman's arrest for failing to appear in court on an unspecified charge, which he said could be the domestic battery charge.

Harriman was arrested on Feb. 23 in Pahrump and charged with possessing stolen property and drugs, according to police. Harriman, who also allegedly had a handgun with him when he was arrested, is scheduled to appear in Pahrump Justice Court on April 25 to face those charges.

On Feb. 28 Metro Police pulled Harriman over about 1 a.m. in the area of Charleston Boulevard and Buffalo Drive for a traffic violation. When they ran a check on him, they found he had four traffic warrants, according to the police report. Then the officers allegedly found methamphetamine in Harriman's possession.

Harriman is scheduled to appear in Justice Court on March 14 on four traffic warrants, but a hearing on the Las Vegas drug charge has not yet been scheduled.

On Thursday, in another development regarding an alleged 311 Boyz gang member, Cherry rejected 18-year-old Jeff Hart's claim that he should be released from jail due to credit for time he served in custody in connection to the rock attack on Hansen.

Hart's lawyer, Sean Sullivan, argued that the six months of home confinement that Hart served prior to sentencing should have been added to the 59 days credit for time served that Cherry granted Hart at sentencing.

If the additional six months were taken into account, Hart would be released because he has already served seven months of his one year sentence.

Cherry rejected the argument, and ordered Hart to serve the remainder of his jail sentence.

Sullivan said Cherry "wanted to keep a finger on Jeff. Although he (Cherry) knows Jeff's been compliant he wants him to finish his time in custody."

"I'm not surprised (with Cherry's ruling), but I thought Jeff had a shot," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said Hart "appeared to be holding up well" and has had no mishaps in jail.

Hart was one of four alleged members of the gang to receive to receive jail time from Cherry. The judge sentenced Hart, 18-year-old Matthew Costello, Christopher Farley and 19-year-old Steven Gazlay to one year at the Clark County Detention Center, a year of house arrest and three more on probation.

Since sentencing the alleged 311 Boyz members Cherry has granted Costello a release from his jail time. Costello is now serving one year under house arrest and then three years of probation.

Brandon Gallion, 17, was given a year of house arrest and four years' probation and 17-year-old Ernest Aguilar was sentenced to probation.

Charges of attempted murder against Anthony Gallion, 16, were dismissed May 18.

The only alleged member of the 311 Boyz to go to trial for the July 2003 rock attack was 19-year-old Scott Morse. He was acquitted of all charges in June.