Tipsheet

A Judge Ordered the Release of a Career Criminal. This Las Vegas Sheriff Said, Not Gonna Happen.

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  March 18, 2026 8:30 AM

This is the way.

Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill has stood up to a judge's ridiculous order to release a career criminal, Joshua Sanchez-Lopez, who has more than 30 prior arrests, including one for involuntary manslaughter. Judge Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Eric Goodman ordered Sanchez-Lopez released into the police department's electronic monitoring program.

Sheriff McMahill refused, pointing to Sanchez-Lopez's lengthy record and past refusal to comply with court orders.

Here's more:

Sanchez-Lopez has a troubling past which includes almost three dozen arrests and prison time for drug and involuntary manslaughter charges.

'We have to take a look at that and say, "Is this somebody who our electronic supervision program can monitor safely in the community?"' said Mike Dickerson, assistant general counsel for the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD). 'This is an issue of public safety.' 

The confrontation is now headed for the Nevada Supreme Court as the Republican sheriff refuses to budge.

The clash began after Sanchez-Lopez was arrested in January on a charge of grand larceny of a motor vehicle.

Despite Sanchez-Lopez's history, Judge Goodman set his bail at $25,000 and ruled that he should go on "high-level electronic monitoring" if he posted bond. Back in January, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) officials told the court they would not release Sanchez-Lopez into the program. Judge Goodman ordered the department to comply by February 5 or face contempt sanctions.

Now the case is headed to the Nevada State Supreme Court. LVMPD said that Sheriff McMahill "determined that electronic supervision would pose an unreasonable risk to public safety," as well as the safety of LVMPD officers. They cited a 2020 incident in which Sanchez-Lopez fled from officers while armed with a gun, then posted a picture of his ankle monitor on Snapchat with the caption "got chased again."

P. David Westbrook, a public defender on Sanchez-Lopez's legal team, said LVMPD is "flat wrong" and that judges "decide whether someone charged with a crime should be released and under what conditions."

Exactly this. People will only tolerate these soft-on-crime policies so long.

What happened in Virginia should never have been allowed, and Sheriff McMahill is trying to stop that from happening in Las Vegas.

Local elections are very important.

We'll see what the Nevada State Supreme Court decides.

These judges and the Democratic politicians who pass soft-on-crime legislation believe they are insulated from danger. They're fine with us being put at risk, of course.