http://www.lasvegasnow.com/global/story.asp?s=6282965
Mark Sayre, Investigative Reporter
I-Team: Local Bounty Hunter Under Arrest
March 26, 2007 07:50 PM MDT
Maintenance man Art Dias was shot.
Bartender Sylvia Quenneville saw it all unfold.
Conrad Claus is Art Dias' attorney.
Bounty hunter Rob Suckoll sat down with the I-Team last month.
A local bounty hunter is under arrest -- and charged with three felonies -- after an incident first reported by the Channel 8 Eyewitness News I-Team. It happened at an adult nightclub in January.
A maintenance man was shot and seriously injured as the bounty hunter barged in to arrest a client. Nevada law may be lenient when it comes to what bounty hunters are allowed to do.
As long as they notify police in advance -- bounty hunters can forcibly enter private property. But now police and prosecutors say this is one incident where a bounty hunter went too far.
Bounty hunter Rob Suckoll sat down with the I-Team last month and defended what happened inside the Green Door club on Jan. 25.
"I look back and I see who turns out to be the maintenance man coming up on my backside," said Suckoll.
Maintenance man Art Dias was shot with a "beanbag" shotgun, as Suckoll was trying to take in a client.
"And he is just a couple of feet away from my backside. At that time, my agent had to do what was appropriate -- stop the gentlemen -- because he has no clue what his intentions were," said Suckoll.
Diaz says it all happened very fast.
"When I told them to take it out of the club, the guy with the shotgun raised it and told me to back up," said Diaz. "I told him to wise up and he shot me. I don't remember hearing a sound or anything. All I saw was a little white thing coming at me and I went down."
Now -- the district attorney is charging Suckoll and his co-defendants Ian Drazon and Diego Rodriguez with three felonies.
They include:
-- burglary while in possession of a firearm.
-- battery with the use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm.
-- and reckless disregard of persons or property.
Bartender Sylvia Quenneville saw it all unfold.
"All I saw was Rob, another gentleman, a gun, two women. They are going through and I am thinking, 'What is this, a SWAT team? What's going on here?' "
This is not Suckoll's first run-in with the law. He was arrested in El Salvador in 2005 while trying to bring a fugitive back to Nevada.
Conrad Claus is Art Dias' attorney.
"In regards to the criminal case, he feels justly and rightly as if he has been vindicated by the police in this particular action," said Claus.
Rob Suckoll was bailed out of jail over the weekend. He did return our call today and says -- on the advice of his attorney -- he cannot say anything about these charges nor his arrest.
His business, Budget Bail Bonds, is licensed by the state insurance division. A spokesman would not confirm nor deny the existence of any investigation.
Email your comments to Investigative Reporter Mark Sayre.
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