An effort on the part of several news organizations to unseal warrants related to the Las Vegas mass shooting investigation faced a setback on Tuesday — but one that appears to have revealed a critical component of the investigation that had been previously kept from the public.
Tuesday’s hearing at the Clark County District court was a result of a joint lawsuit filed in early November by seven media outlets, including the Associated Press, the New York Times, and NBC-TV, for warrants connected to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s investigation of the deadly mass shooting on October 1.
In a series of tweets,NBC-TV reporter Craig Fiegener said that LVMPD requested an “in camera,” or private, hearing from the judge to explain why the police department is requesting ongoing secrecy in the investigation. It has been over 100 days since the LVMPD has held a press conference in relation to the Las Vegas shooting massacre.
Metro’s attorney is pushing for an “in camera” hearing- Latin term for private/confidential— without media in courtroom, so he can say why @LVMPD wants ongoing secrecy. #LasVegasShooting
— Craig Fiegener (@CraigNews3LV) January 16, 2018
Though specifics remain unclear, an attorney for the LVMPD reportedly said in court that police are investigating additional charges somehow related to the shooting.
Metro’s attorney is pushing for an “in camera” hearing- Latin term for private/confidential— without media in courtroom, so he can say why @LVMPD wants ongoing secrecy. #LasVegasShooting
— Craig Fiegener (@CraigNews3LV) January 16, 2018
Attorney for @LVMPD discloses, “there are charges being investigated,” in #LasVegasShooting case, says Nick Crosby. No names mentioned in open hearing.
— Craig Fiegener (@CraigNews3LV) January 16, 2018
In a phone interview following the hearing, Fiegener told CrimeOnline that there was no additional context offered on these charges, and that it was impossible to speculate on what it could mean.
Fiegener also told us that Judge Elissa Cadish gave the LVMPD a week to file brief arguing why an in camera hearing is necessary, and said the briefing would be initially filed under seal until she reviews it.
Judge Cadish to give @LVMPD one week to explain need for ongoing secrecy. The “secrecy” brief will be filed, preliminarily, under seal. Judge will rule from that if full hearing needed. #LasVegasShooting
— Craig Fiegener (@CraigNews3LV) January 16, 2018
Fiegener noted that LVMPD appears to be taking a bit of a risk, as its reasons for requesting secrecy could ultimately be made public, depending on the judge’s response.
“[The judge] did almost put them on notice” when she emphasized that the briefing would be filed under seal only a preliminary measure, Fiegener said.
The reporter told us that the police department has until end-of-business next Tuesday to file the briefing.
On Friday, a federal judge unexpectedly unsealed warrants from the early days of the FBI investigation into gunman Stephen Paddock, his girlfriend Marliou Danley, and any other possible accomplices the agency believed at the time may have aided Paddock. No potential accomplices were identified in the court records that were unsealed on Friday, and a cryptic email exchange that investigators believed may have been related to the deadly shooting may have been messages Paddock sent to himself.
Fiegener told CrimeOnline that the judge kept 11 pages of federal court filings under seal while releasing more than 300 pages of warrants and affidavits.
[Feature image: Associated Press]