DA appeals dismissal of Quon arson indictment

The district attorney's office is appealing a judge's decision dismissing an arson indictment against embattled construction defects lawyer Nancy Quon and her boyfriend, former police officer William Ronald Webb.

District Judge Douglas Herndon ruled last week that the judge who oversees grand jury matters had abused her discretion by allowing prosecutors to obtain the indictment after a previous panel had refused to file arson and insurance fraud charges.

Herndon concluded that District Judge Linda Bell should have gotten more detailed information from prosecutors about their intentions before allowing them to go back to a new grand jury.

"We disagree with his interpretation of the law," Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens said Monday. "We're going to appeal."

Herndon had encouraged the appeal last week after he concluded from the bench that the state law on how to resubmit grand jury cases was vague.

The judge did not fault prosecutors for seeking the charges, saying the evidence they ended up presenting to the new panel appeared to support an arson indictment.

A hearing was set Tuesday for prosecutors to tell Herndon of their plans to ask the Nevada Supreme Court to overturn his decision.

Prosecutors may ask Herndon at the hearing to delay setting a trial date in an earlier criminal case against Quon, 51, and Webb, 43, until the Supreme Court decides the appeal. Quon and Webb, both free on bail, are charged in that case in a drug conspiracy tied to a possible suicide scheme on Quon's part.

Quon was originally indicted in April on a single felony count of conspiracy to violate the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. The indictment charged that Quon provided the cash for Webb to unlawfully buy 29.2 grams of the club drug gama-hydroxybutyric acid from undercover detectives. Police contended Quon was trying to arrange her own death with the drug, which police said the couple incorrectly thought would be undetectable.

Webb also was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, but the grand jury refused to charge both Quon and Webb in the fire that caused some $300,000 in damage to Quon's Rhodes Ranch home.

With Bell's permission, prosecutors later presented the arson evidence to a new grand jury and obtained the indictment against the couple in August.

Quon was charged with five felonies, including first-degree arson, conspiracy to commit arson and insurance fraud. Prosecutors alleged she set fire to her home in a botched suicide scheme, but she has denied the allegations.

Police and prosecutors have contended Quon was looking to escape the pressure of a federal investigation into a scheme to take over Las Vegas Valley homeowners associations.

Quon is a central figure in the scheme, which involved stacking homeowners association boards with friendly members who would hand out legal work and construction defect contracts to co-conspirators. She has not been charged in the investigation.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.

Trending topics:

• Douglas Herndon
• grand jury
• Jeff German
• Linda Bell
• Nancy Quon
• William Ronald Webb

Comments

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

1. PStanley Jan. 10, 2012 | 6:51 a.m. Report Abuse

   As crucial as it is to prosecute the distraught, and unstable who are out there attempting suicide, perhaps we could ask the DA to devote an equal amount of zeal, resource allocation, and funding to bringing to justice the violent thugs who are trying to kill others, not themselves.
   Based on RJ reporting, and crime stats Las Vegas still has violent criminals who are hurting, killing, and destroying the property others.
   Perhaps law enforcement should hold off on their crack down on those who are endangering themselves by jay-walking, until they get all the drunk drivers off the street.
   I do understand that a story about prosecuting a rich attorney is far more newsworthy, and based on some RJ comments, for some people far more emotionally satisfying than taking down a garden variety perpetrator of violence. Still, perhaps public safety should be of as much importance to our DA as sticking it to the suicidal.

2. MGH Jan. 10, 2012 | 3:55 a.m. Report Abuse

   Readers should stop patronizing this one-side news paper. They only report what they want you to hear. Why have forum, when they (RJ) withhold posting comments.

3. MGH Jan. 10, 2012 | 3:46 a.m. Report Abuse

   I wished that the general public could see what goes on behind closed doors in the criminal courts. All that is generally stated is the damning accusations against a defendant. Here in Nevada we accept the state's claims as the controlling narrative. The fight to make sure a client is truly presumed innocent is usually lost before the first gavel falls in a courtroom.

4. local_voice Jan. 9, 2012 | 11:26 p.m. Report Abuse

   I'll bet her neighbors are thrilled that the suicidal arsonist is back on the block. She's one thing, but assisting your physically healthy GF to commit suicide, really? Even my EX-husband wouldn't do that to me. He would try to get me help. I wonder why Webb is former Metro? They tolerate a lot, so Webb must have been a real winner.

5. B.Camp Jan. 9, 2012 | 8:57 p.m. Report Abuse

   Duh, no one saw this coming? Come on now, this broad has like $100 million net worth, do you think a Vegas judge may have look the other way. No one is "charmed" that much, ya think? The only way to get her, as I've written, is to have the Feds go after her, and not local Vegas ones either. Money may not buy happiness, bit looking at her court history, it does buy a lot of luck and freedom!

6. Lawyer Jan. 9, 2012 | 7:02 p.m. Report Abuse

   @sage.sophos: remember this waste of taxpayers money is also paying the highest paid prosecutors in the United States; a chief deputy is paid more than senior trial counsel to the IRS or a 4 Star General, not to mention obscene benefits. At least if we are going to pay people 1/4 a million dollars a year; they could do a decent job. Maybe I'm asking for too much.

7. sage.sophos Jan. 9, 2012 | 6:51 p.m. Report Abuse

   What a crock! It took several grand jury presentations before they could even get an indictment because the case is so weak. Now they want to spend more money to take this to the State Supreme court? Where is the fiduciary responsibility to the citizens? The court system in Vegas looks broken to me. It is unbelievable! It also apparent that somebody out there has a real grudge against Ms Quon and wants to put this woman through the grinder. The delaying tactic is really just another form of punishment. Does Las Vegas really have that much money to throw away just to let these bozos play this adolescent game? Does Deputy District Attorney Sandra DiGiacomo want to try this high profile case so she can advance her career to judge-hood? I have never seen anything so blatantly inappropriate in my life!

8. Tahoe.DI Jan. 9, 2012 | 6:04 p.m. Report Abuse

   If the judge thought that the law on re-submitting the case to a grand jury was "vague"....why did he dismiss the case? I believe that the dismissal will be overturned and the DA will try the case in due time. (I do not believe that the DA is barred from resubmitting a case, to a grand jury for a potential "true bill" of indictment).

9. NDay Jan. 9, 2012 | 4:53 p.m. Report Abuse

   Where is the wife of the attorney who got kneecapped and left for dead? I heard she was in Amsterdam on the run from the same guys who did this.