Las Vegas man was tortured for hours before canyon killing, records show

Prosecutors are considering the decease punishment for astatine slightest 1 of 3 radical accused this period of a gruesome transgression successful a distant canyon adjacent Pahrump, wherever a Las Vegas antheral was tortured for aggregate hours, thrown disconnected a cliff and shot, records show.

Heather Pate, 27; her boyfriend, 26-year-old Kevin Dent; and her erstwhile boyfriend, 27-year-old Brad Mehn, person been accused of torturing and sidesplitting Pate’s neighbor, 27-year-old Roy Jaggers, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office has said. His assemblage was recovered aboriginal Aug. 1 successful Cathedral Canyon, a erstwhile roadside attraction from the 1970s and ‘80s that has since fallen into disrepair successful the Nye County desert.

As constabulary proceed to stock details astir the probe with the man’s mother, Kassy Robinson, and father, Jerry Jaggers, the 2 person struggled to wrapper their heads astir their son’s heinous killing.

“How tin you bash that to different quality being?” Jerry Jaggers said successful a caller interrogation with the Review-Journal.

Deputies arrested Pate, Dent and Mehn wrong 36 hours of the archetypal 911 telephone reporting Roy Jaggers’ body, the sheriff’s bureau has said. According to a transgression complaint, Jaggers was tortured with a stroke torch, knives, baton and axe, past was stripped of his apparel and forced to locomotion disconnected a cliff. At the bottommost of the canyon, helium was repeatedly changeable with a shotgun, the ailment states.

Pate and her fellow are accused of luring Roy Jaggers to Pate’s location due to the fact that they thought helium had wounded Pate’s child, the sheriff’s bureau has said.

Thomas Gibson, Mehn’s court-appointed defence attorney, said Wednesday that prosecutors are considering the decease punishment for his client. Mehn is accused of shooting Roy Jaggers’ aft helium went disconnected the cliff, according to the complaint. Jaggers’ origin of decease was aggregate gunshot wounds, the sheriff’s bureau has said.

Jaggers’ parent told the Review-Journal that she did not cognize Pate well, but said her lad occasionally babysat Pate’s children oregon watched her dogs. His parents declined to speech astir the specifics of the case, but some said their lad was a benignant antheral who would not wounded anyone.

“I cognize precisely what helium was like, what he’s susceptible of, what he’s not susceptible of,” his parent said.

Roy Jaggers had acquisition arsenic a contractor and electrician, but had to trust connected broadside enactment to get by during the COVID-19 pandemic. He yet recovered enactment astatine a convenience store, and was surviving astatine location to assistance attraction for his mother.

Other than a misdemeanor citation for trespassing successful 2019 that was aboriginal dismissed, helium had nary transgression past successful Clark County, tribunal records show.

He was an accomplished martial creator who from the property of 15 studied tai chi and kung fu astatine the Create, Develop and Flow Martial Arts Academy, his teacher, Jack Soderberg, said. He earned dozens of contention medals and trophies implicit the years. One of his crowning accomplishments was earning a “black sash” successful kung fu 4 years ago.

Recently, helium had started helping Soderberg thatch martial arts to different students. His extremity was to gain the rubric “sifu,” meaning master, and Soderberg said helium would person made it with much time.

“He was a kid that appreciated things successful life,” Soderberg said. “He had existent excitement. He loved things, helium loved people.”

He was besides passionate astir anime, hiking and governmental activism for Democratic campaigns, his begetter said. And helium was a talented musician, playing saxophone since puerility and performing successful the Bonanza High School marching band.

“He utilized to travel successful my country and beryllium connected the borderline of my furniture and we’d conscionable beryllium and speech for hours,” his parent said. “And I miss that truthful bad.”

A distant transgression scene

The past clip his parents heard from him was July 31. His parent was distant from their home, but Roy Jaggers called his dada to chat astir his day. It was a mean conversation, and it ended the aforesaid arsenic each telephone — helium told his dada helium loved him.

He was lured to Pate’s location astir 2 hours later, Jerry Jaggers said.

Family tribunal records amusement that Pate was successful a contentious custody conflict with the begetter of her 3-year-old and 4-year-old sons. According to tribunal records filed by the boys’ begetter aft Pate’s arrest, the children witnessed portion of the crime.

“There are video recordings of the crimes being committed, and arsenic disturbing arsenic that is, it is overmuch much disturbing that successful 1 video recording, the children are seen entering the country portion the defendant/mother and her transgression co-defendants were committing assorted physical, transgression acts against the deceased of the transgression action,” according to the tribunal filing, successful which the begetter argued for superior custody of the boys.

After Jaggers was lured to Pate’s home, helium was handcuffed and forced into her car, according to the transgression complaint, which was included successful the household tribunal fillings. Pate and Dent drove Jaggers to the Bell Vista shooting scope successful Pahrump, past met up with Mehn, whom constabulary described arsenic Pate’s “friend and erstwhile lover.”

The 3 aboriginal drove Jaggers astir 25 miles distant to Cathedral Canyon, wherever helium “was changeable by Mehn with a shotgun much than erstwhile aft Jaggers was tortured and/or beaten by oregon successful the beingness of each 3 defendants astatine aggregate locations,” the transgression ailment said.

Just aft 6:20 a.m. connected Aug. 1, idiosyncratic called 911 to study a assemblage recovered successful the canyon, which lies betwixt Mountain Springs and Pahrump, a fewer miles down a bumpy, hardly paved roadworthy disconnected of authorities Route 160. Police identified Jaggers utilizing his fingerprints, the sheriff’s bureau has said.

It remains unclear who reported his assemblage to police. The nearest structures are much than a mile away, though makeshift occurrence pits and trash showed grounds of camping successful the area.

‘Going to beryllium the hardest thing’

Roy Jaggers’ parents mean to question to Nye County for each tribunal proceeding successful the case. His parent said she wants to “make definite that justness is served.”

“It’s going to beryllium the hardest happening I’ve ever done successful my life,” Jerry Jaggers said, adding that he’s going to “close my eyes and effort not to listen.”

He’ll beryllium capable to respire again erstwhile the tribunal proceedings over, helium said.

After constabulary identified Roy Jaggers’ body, they went to the location helium shared with his mother, adjacent Sahara Avenue and Nellis Boulevard. She and neighbors told deputies that her lad was past seen astatine Pate’s home, wherever Pate was arrested aft constabulary executed a hunt warrant.

Police aboriginal arrested Dent astatine his location connected the 7000 artifact of Twain Harte Street, adjacent Windmill Lane and Decatur Boulevard. Officials past identified Mehn arsenic a fishy and searched his location successful Pahrump.

Mehn was arrested connected authorities Route 160 portion driving to Pahrump, officials said.

Pate was arrested successful Clark County successful 2012, but her misdemeanor possession of cause paraphernalia complaint was aboriginal dismissed. Mehn had nary transgression past successful Clark County different than a postulation citation.

Dent was released from situation successful January aft pleading blameworthy successful May 2019 to resisting a nationalist serviceman with a firearm, kid maltreatment and artillery constituting home violence, situation records show. He had antecedently pleaded blameworthy to a misdemeanor artillery complaint successful 2017, and successful 2018 helium pleaded nary contention to a abstracted misdemeanor home artillery charge, tribunal records show.

The 3 stay astatine the Nye County Detention Center without bail. A preliminary proceeding successful the lawsuit is scheduled to statesman Sept. 2.

Contact Katelyn Newberg astatine knewberg@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg connected Twitter.