MobileRJ | RSS TwitterTwitter FacebookFacebook E-mail Alerts
Home manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed

sponsored by
News
Jun. 20, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nye County district attorney cited for DUI after two wrecks

First vehicle crashed was county-issued SUV, second was family van

By HENRY BREAN
REVIEW-JOURNAL

The wreckage of a Ford Expedition sits behind the Nye County sheriff's office in Pahrump. Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett crashed the county-owned vehicle on a California highway about 30 miles southwest of Pahrump on Sunday afternoon. Six hours later, he crashed his personal vehicle on the same highway and was arrested for drunken driving.
Photo by Horace Langford Jr./Pahrump Valley Times



Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett



Nye County DA's crash sites
Graphic by Mike Johnson.

Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett is facing a drunken driving charge in California -- and what figure to be some uncomfortable questions from his constituents -- after crashing two vehicles on the same desert highway six hours apart.

Beckett, 49, totaled his county-issued sport utility vehicle in the first rollover accident, which occurred about 1:30 p.m. Sunday on California Route 127 just south of Shoshone, Calif.

Most Popular Stories
  • 'YOU DON'T BLOW A BUNCH OF CASH IN VEGAS ...': Obama remark reopens wound
  • NORM: Ad's Strip scenes raised eyebrows
  • LAUGHLIN EDGEWATER: Two dead in casino car crash
  • Shutting down the Ritz
  • Shutting down the Ritz
  • Former commander of USS Cole considers run against Reid
  • NORM: $1 million wager on Super Bowl approved
  • Tourist describes chaos as car plows into Laughlin casino, killing two
  • Tourist describes chaos as car plows into Laughlin casino, killing two
  • IMAGES FROM 1860S: Photos show historic Nevada
  • Fighter battles rare disease that shatters mixed martial arts dream
  • Flood advisory for Las Vegas Valley




    • Then, after catching a ride back to his home in Pahrump in a tow truck, Beckett headed back out on the same highway in the family van, only to crash again at 7:35 p.m. about 35 miles south of the first accident scene.

    The California Highway Patrol officer called to the scene of the second wreck reported smelling alcohol on Beckett's breath.

    Sgt. Mike Black, spokesman for the Highway Patrol's Barstow, Calif., area office, said Beckett failed a blood-breath alcohol test and was arrested for drunken driving.

    The longtime district attorney was taken to Baker, Calif., 20 miles from the crash site, where he was cited and released into the custody of a friend who came to pick him up, Black said.

    Beckett did not respond to several messages left at his office and on his cell phone.

    As of Thursday, no official statement on the crashes or the arrest had been issued by Nye County or Beckett's office.

    County Manager Ron Williams declined to comment through his secretary.

    Nye County Commission Chairwoman Joni Eastley said that she heard whisperings about the incident earlier this week, but that the first reliable information she received came Thursday morning when a friend of the Beckett family called to tell her what had happened.

    The friend told Eastley that Beckett had suffered a head injury in a crash and was home resting under a doctor's supervision. No mention was made of a second crash or an arrest, Eastley said.

    "He's got a huge goose egg is what I was told," Eastley said. "He's got a huge goose egg on his head."

    Beckett is midway through his fourth term as Nye County district attorney, a position he has held since January 1994. The elected post pays $105,616 a year, a salary set by state law.

    He is currently running for district judge against a longtime incumbent and one of his own deputy prosecutors.

    According to a report on the first accident, Beckett told police he was "fidgeting with the radio" when the county-owned 2003 Ford Expedition drifted off the road. He lost control of the vehicle and it rolled, coming to rest on its roof.

    John Eropkin, undersheriff for the Inyo County (Calif.) sheriff's office, said the deputy who responded to the scene did not smell alcohol on Beckett or his vehicle, "and that's what they have to go on."

    The Highway Patrol report on the second crash blames the accident on Beckett's "impaired state" and his failure to watch the road while talking on his cell phone.

    According to the report, Beckett told the officer that he drank "a Bud Light with dinner" before heading out alone in the family's 2005 Dodge van on his way to Santa Barbara, Calif.

    Eastley said she was told Beckett was headed to Santa Barbara to attend the State Bar of Nevada's annual meeting, which began Wednesday and lasts through Saturday at a posh beachside hotel.

    Beckett reported minor injuries to his hands after each crash but refused medical treatment at both scenes.

    Black said Beckett is scheduled for arraignment in Barstow Superior Court on Sept. 2.

    Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.

    Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

    Leave Your Comment 63 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

    scarlett wrote on March 03, 2009 05:56 AM: i h8 u


    dana wrote on July 28, 2008 02:39 PM: Ever notice there aren't any female criminal defense attorneys in Nye County? Hmmmmmmm... wonder why?


    joe wrote on July 19, 2008 06:55 PM: The funniest thing about Beckett is the Sasquatch secretary he has who runs the office up north by treating everyone like crap, and the red-haired guy who does about ten legal cases a year--he can't be bothered to work since he's a basketball coach. Did we mention steep salaries here that you, the taxpayer, pays to these bozos year after year? The constituency should be screaming for accountability....


    joe wrote on July 14, 2008 03:20 PM: Beckett should be removed from office since: 1. He totaled a county car while driving drunk & refused Field Sobriety Tests in the 1st instance; 2. He had his campaign signs for District Court Judge in the county vehicle, using taxpayer monies to not only assist in his campaign, but also to foot the heavy gas bill for his own personal gain; 3. He has a DDA in Tonopah who works side cases in Vegas when he is supposed to be doing his job in Nye County instead; and 4. He fired Jett Switzer for doing drugs and ruined her paralegal career permanently for her legal mistake. Why not make him pay just as heavy, if he is not ABOVE THE LAW....


    joe wrote on July 08, 2008 10:54 PM: Let me who is without sin cast the first stone....


    RSandoval wrote on June 21, 2008 03:29 PM: What a joke this politician is!
    A real shame.


    There comes a point and time wrote on June 20, 2008 09:49 PM: When a good old fashion tar and feathering and running one out of town is in order.

    Make him pay for the car first.


    Rachel wrote on June 20, 2008 06:25 PM: Idiot. Thank God he didn't kill or hurt anyone.


    Vern wrote on June 20, 2008 04:54 PM: Guess it's time to resign Mr. Beckett


    Marie wrote on June 20, 2008 04:02 PM: First of all, why did he leave Sunday when the conference did not start till Wed? nice vacation huh BOB?
    Second, why was a drug and alcohol test not done after the 1st crash? NO MATTER WHAT, as he was in a COUNTY car, I work for the county and I would have to submit to testing if I crashed a county car,.... interesting!!
    Third, look at his offices...Pahrump and Tonopah, you already have an Asst DA who crashed a county car WHILE drunk and BOB BECKETT swept it under the carpet...SHOCKER!!! and look at someone else who works for him, a DRUNK who has on more than one occasion done things, lets just say, embarassing to the county, can we say "I DONT WANT TO SEE YOUR BOOBS!!" this same person also started a fight with one of her OWN clients in a bar (DRUNK) and good ol' BOB tells her "IT'S OK"!
    This same person can't even do her own JOB, and how many times do her employees have to file complaints against her for hostile work place? COME ON BOB, time to clean your self up and your OWN office's!!! I think it is time to quit, and let someone COMPITENT to run the DA's office, of course we will need to find someone who can do it, there is NO ONE in either office able to do it.


    Read All Comments