A man being booked Friday evening at the Clark County Jail allegedly assaulted a deputy and stole her stun gun, which he then tried to use on other deputies while attempting to escape.
Ricky I. Younger told sheriff’s deputies that he was detoxing from heroin, benzodiazepines and alcohol and had never been violent before, court records show.
The 34-year-old transient made a first appearance Monday in Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree robbery, second-degree escape, disarming a law enforcement officer, custodial assault and second-degree theft.
He was escorted into the courtroom by three deputies in a restraint chair.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor James Smith said Younger has no prior felony convictions, just misdemeanors, but he has a pending case for possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Judge Robert Lewis set Younger’s bail at $100,000.
Jail surveillance footage that captured the incident shows Younger get up from a bench in the booking area about 8:40 p.m., glance at Deputy Brenda Bullard’s equipment and then lunge at Bullard, pushing her in the chest. The two briefly struggled over a Taser that Younger grabbed, but he disarmed the deputy as she fell back into the booking room. The Taser discharged during the scuffle at Bullard and two other deputies in the booking room, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Younger pointed the Taser at the deputies in the booking room. A fourth deputy outside the booking cage drew his Taser, and Younger pointed the stolen Taser at him and ran, the affidavit states.
Deputies tried to shock Younger with their Tasers, but they were ineffective. Younger pointed the stolen Taser at Sgt. Debora Schmierer and ran to the end of the hallway, where he continued to point the Taser at deputies. Deputies tackled him to the floor after additional attempts to tase him, court records said.
While detaining him, the stolen Taser activated and hit Deputy Michael Jones in the groin, according to court documents. He was not seriously injured.
Younger told investigators that he wasn’t thinking and said his mind “went blank.” Younger was apologetic and said he was trying to escape from the jail but knew he was going to get caught, the affidavit states.
He is scheduled to be back in court Jan. 31.
