Authorities searched the home of Metropolitan Police Department Sgt. Kevin Menon on Monday as part of an investigation that appears to be examining whether he violated a law prohibiting the recording of a person’s “private area” without their consent, according to his attorneys and records.
Menon, 43, has two pending criminal cases. In October, a grand jury indicted him on counts of oppression under color of office, subornation of perjury and battery on a protected person. Police have accused Menon of illegally detaining people on the Strip.
In a separate case, authorities have alleged he possessed more than 500 sexual images of young girls.
Robert Draskovich, Menon’s lawyer in the child sexual abuse material case, said his client was “deeply concerned” the search was “retaliatory in nature” in the wake of filings last week by Menon’s attorneys in the Strip case, including a motion to dismiss claiming Menon was a whistleblower who was vindictively prosecuted after trying to fight a “culture of racism and excessive force.”
Metro and the Clark County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chief Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Portz said he could not comment.
Defense attorney Dominic Gentile said Tuesday that investigators seized every camera and piece of electronic equipment in his client’s house.
Monday’s search lasted from about 8:30 a.m. to 4:50 p.m., according to Gentile, and included 10 to 15 officers, who he believes worked for Metro.
Authorities “turned his house upside down,” Draskovich said.
A search warrant dated Sunday and signed by District Judge Tierra Jones listed kinds of evidence, like electronic devices, but did not specify the focus of the investigation. It cited a sealed affidavit by a Metro officer.
A notice that prosecutors intended to take the case to a grand jury said an indictment would relate to the statute prohibiting the capture of someone’s private area “and/or any other charges arising out of the incidents occurring on or about or between; September 25, 2024 through March 16, 2025.”
If convicted of violating the law, which defines private area as “the naked or undergarment clad genitals, pubic area, buttocks or female breast of a person,” a defendant would be guilty of a gross misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for additional offenses.
Gentile, who has been practicing for over 50 years, said he had never previously heard of a search warrant being used to investigate a gross misdemeanor. “I’m just speechless,” he said.
Menon has not been arrested since the search, and Gentile is not aware of a new case, he said. Clark County Detention Center logs did not show Menon as an inmate as of Tuesday afternoon.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.