Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Court upholds man’s conviction after scuffle with Lake Mead rangers

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld two separate federal convictions in Las Vegas, involving one individual who scuffled with park rangers and another charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The appellate court on April 20 upheld Chief District Judge Roger Hunt in a case involving Kevin Bibbins, who was convicted of two misdemeanors in connection with a traffic stop in April 2008 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Bibbins was driving a motor home that was towing a pickup truck when he was stopped by two rangers. He was informed that a garbage bag had slipped over the back edge of the pickup truck, obscuring the truck's license plate. After learning that Bibbins had an active felony warrant from Clark County and prior charges of assaulting officers, the rangers called for backup and asked him to exit the motor home.

According to court records, Bibbins said his leg was broken as he approached the rangers with a limp. He had said he possessed crutches and a walking boot, but the rangers would not allow him to retrieve them. It was when he reached the rear of the truck that the confrontation occurred.

His version was that he tightly gripped the truck's tailgate to avoid putting weight on his broken leg but that the rangers forced his hands behind his back and then used tasers on him. The rangers testified that when they tried to put Bibbins' hands behind his back, he continued to tightly grip the tailgate and tense his arms. He then allegedly shifted his weight toward one ranger and raised his arm.

The rangers said they used their tasers after Bibbins cited his broken leg for his refusal to get on the ground. Bibbins was ultimately found guilty of resisting a government employee and obstructing a license plate. He was sentenced to 30 hours of community service and was restricted from Lake Mead for a year.

Bibbins appealed on grounds that there was insufficient evidence to show he willfully resisted the rangers, but the appellate court disagreed. Bibbins also challenged the license plate conviction by questioning whether the law applied to a towed pickup truck, but the appellate court upheld that charge as well.

The court also sided with District Judge Kent Dawson on April 15 in a case involving Lorenzo Tucker. Tucker received an eight-year prison sentence after he was convicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court records, Tucker's ex-girlfriend had just broken up with him in September 2007 when she alerted the Nevada Division of Parole and Probation that he had kept a shotgun in a closet in their Las Vegas apartment. Metro Police recovered the shotgun and arrested Tucker at the apartment, but he denied the firearm belonged to him.

On appeal, Tucker argued that there was insufficient evidence to prove he possessed the firearm. He also accused the prosecution of misconduct and said the jury did not receive proper instructions. But the appellate court rejected those and other arguments and upheld the conviction.

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