Abdul Shakir, David Hayes, Jovan Carter, Leonard Hunt and Sarah Cowen.
Monday, June 28, 2010 | 2:50 p.m.
Sun archives
Sun archives
Four men who were arrested in connection with several Las Vegas Valley residential robberies, home invasions and a shooting that took place earlier this year will have their first appearance in two weeks in Clark County District Court.
The men, who were arrested in April, were indicted by a grand jury last week in connection with eight separate incidents that prosecutors say they planned and carried out from January to April.
Judge Stefany Miley on Monday continued the first court appearance for the men until 9:30 a.m. July 14. They are Abdul Shakir, 40; Jovan Carter, 23; David Hayes, 35, and Leonard Hunt, 40.
Hunt and Shakir forfeited their parole and had to return to the Nevada state prison system to serve out sentences for other crimes, while Hayes and Carter are being held in the Clark County Detention Center. Bail was set at $1.5 million for each.
A fifth defendant, Sarah Cowen, the only one of the group without a criminal record, had been charged with 11 felony counts. However, she entered a plea agreement with the district attorney's office and will be sentenced at 8:15 a.m. Sept. 23 on two felony counts, robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime. She is in custody on $168,000 bail, according to court records.
The five were originally arrested in connection with four incidents. The grand jury indictment handed down last week linked the four men to eight robbery and home invasion cases and listed 45 felony counts resulting from those incidents.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Roy Nelson, who heads the district attorney's gun crimes unit, has said investigators thought different combinations of the four men committed between 10 and 15 robberies and that additional charges might be filed.
According to investigators, most of the incidents took place in the western Las Vegas Valley, but some occurred in Henderson.
Police said all of the people charged knew each other and had some type of agreement to rob various homes. Metro Police Lt. Clint Nichols has said some of the suspects were former roommates at Nevada State Prison.
One of the home invasions that two of the suspects are allegedly linked to involved the March 31 shooting of a homeowner during an attempted robbery in the 8600 block of Queens Brook Court.
The shooting occurred when the homeowner tried to escape after being held at gunpoint in his home by two men, authorities said. Police said the men entered through the front door, which was unlocked, and demanded money from the homeowner.
The indictment charges Hunt with attempted murder in that case, but does not name the other suspect.
In the indictment, Hunt was charged with 34 felony counts, which also included kidnapping and the use of a deadly weapon. Shakir was charged with 32 felonies, including kidnapping and the use of a deadly weapon.
The indictment charges Hayes with 23 felony counts, including kidnapping, use of deadly weapon in a crime and an ex-felon possessing a firearm. Carter was charged with 10 counts, including home invasion and being an ex-felon possessing a deadly weapon.
