Aiexpress – Nevada prison officials were unaware that a convicted murderer had gone missing until they discovered he was not in custody prior to a scheduled parole hearing, as initially reported by the 8 News Now Investigators on Monday.
Jeremy Kelly, aged 43, was convicted by a Clark County jury in 1999. He was found guilty on charges including first-degree murder using a deadly weapon, robbery using a deadly weapon, burglary while in possession of a firearm or deadly weapon, and conspiracy to commit murder and robbery. This information is based on the available records.
In June 1996, Las Vegas Metro police apprehended Kelly, who was 15 years old at the time, for the fatal shooting of Terry Dixon. When Kelly was arrested, he was found driving the stolen truck of the victim, along with the victim’s son, according to documents.
Prosecutors claimed Kelly, the victim’s son, and three other men planned to rob Dixon but shot and murdered him instead. A judge later sentenced Kelly to two consecutive life sentences with the chance of parole.
Kelly was granted parole by the Nevada Parole Board in 2016 while he was in custody at High Desert Station Prison outside Las Vegas, according to documents. However, less than two years later, he violated his parole and was returned to NDOC custody.
In December 2017, Kelly was arrested by Las Vegas Metro police. During a routine traffic stop, an officer discovered that Kelly was driving without his headlights illuminated. Upon further inspection, the officer found a gun, drugs, and nearly $8,000 in cash in Kelly’s possession.
According to a probation violation report, officials observed that Kelly did not fulfill his obligation of reporting to his probation officer in September 2017. As a result, he was subjected to a curfew. However, Kelly’s situation took a turn when he was subsequently charged in federal court, leading to his transfer to federal custody.
Kelly pleaded guilty to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of heroin, according to official documents. Following this, a federal judge sentenced him to 42 months in prison, taking into account the 18 months he had already served while awaiting trial.
According to county prosecutors, documents reveal that Kelly was released from federal custody in June 2022, following the completion of his federal sentence. However, it was a mistake as he was not returned to state prison for violating probation.
Kelly’s NDOC record indicates that he was placed in “out of state confinement,” despite being released in 2022. A parole hearing was set for January 30th.
The Department of Corrections only discovered last December that Kelly was not in their custody, despite the fact that she would have been eligible for parole in January 2024.
According to court documents obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators, a prosecutor stated that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) had reached out to the Clark County Detention Center (CCDC) regarding the designation of Kelly. However, CCDC informed them that they did not require Kelly’s return. It is important to note that the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) was not contacted by the BOP, and the NDOC did not place a hold on Kelly with the BOP.
Judge Jacqueline Bluth issued a warrant for Kelly’s arrest on January 25, according to records.
“The Nevada Department of Corrections was looking for the defendant’s location for his parole hearing; it was at that location that they realized the defendant was not returned to their custody,” according to the court record of the hearing.
Metro police detained Kelly on February 16, but Monday’s details of his detention were still unknown. He was booked into Clark County jail, but no hearing on his arrest was scheduled as of Monday.
The BOP and NDOC did not respond to the 8 News Now Investigators’ request for more information Monday, most likely due to the President’s Day holiday. On Monday, it was unclear how the information chain was supposed to work and which agency, if either, was responsible for alerting the other.
A representative for Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
In 2022, convicted murderer Porfirio Duarte-Herrera escaped Southern Desert Correctional Center by smashing a window, climbing through it, and then scaling razor wire fences.
Duarte-Herrera escaped on a Friday night, but prison authorities did not notify him of his escape until the following Tuesday morning. Duarte-Herrera had an illegal cell phone inside the prison and made many calls before escaping, according to records. For two days, multiple agencies searched for Duarte-Herrera.
In 2009, Duarte-Herrera and Omar Rueda-Denvers were convicted of killing Dorantes Antonio, who died when a bomb hidden in a coffee cup exploded. The event occurred in a parking garage at the Luxor Hotel in 2007.
Duarte-Herrera was already serving a life sentence with no hope of parole.
