Las Vegas Shooting: More Search Warrant Docs Will Be Unsealed

LAS VEGAS, NV - On Tuesday, Las Vegas District Court Judge Elissa Cadish issued an order to unseal more search warrant documents related to the investigation of the Oct. 1 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip. The order comes after a closed hearing last Friday in which Cadish met with lawyers representing the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to hear law enforcement's assertion that unsealing search warrant documents could jeopardize an ongoing investigation.

Cadish's ruling states that the public has a right to view the documents, but also stipulates that some redactions are necessary to protect the investigation.

"The Court finds that the vast majority of the documents Petitioners seek to unseal do not contain any information that would compromise the ongoing investigation in any way nor present any danger to a private citizen. Thus, the Court finds that redaction of a couple of phrases in each of the search warrant affidavits for SW 17-984 through 17-996, which all have the same pertinent language, will sufficiently protect the ongoing investigation while satisfying the public right to access these criminal case records," the order states.

The initial hearing for the lawsuit - filed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, The Washington Post, CNN, and ABC News - was held on Jan. 16. That hearing came days after over 300 pages of search warrant documents were released on Jan. 12. In that hearing, LVMPD lawyers argued that unsealing documents could interfere with possible charges being brought against an unidentified individual. Three days later, on Jan. 19, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo released the preliminary investigative report of the shooting - an 81-page account of what law enforcement claims to have determined so far in the investigation. On Jan. 24, Cadish ordered the hearing, which was closed to the public so LVMPD lawyers could freely explain their reasons for wanting to keep the documents sealed, for Friday, Jan. 26.

Cadish explained the decision to unseal more search warrant documents with certain redactions.

"In this case, Stephen Paddock has been determined by law enforcement authorities to be the lone shooter and the only one involved in the planning of the shooting, and he shot himself in connection with the October 1 events. However, there is an ongoing investigation regarding possible charges against another individual arising out of information obtained in connection with the October 1 shooting, but not directly related to the shooting itself, Thus, the Court must be cautious not to reveal documents which would interfere with that investigation and possible charges, as well as avoid threatening the privacy interests and safety of an individual mentioned in the sealed documents," the order states.

The ruling unseals search warrant affidavits for the following documents related to the Oct. 1 shooting: SW 17-971A, SW 17-971B, SW 17-971 C, SW 17-971D, SW 17-984, SW 17-985, SW 17-986, SW 17-987, SW 17-988, SW 17-989, W 17-990, SW 17-991, SW 17-992, SW 17-993, SW 17-994, SW 17-995, SW 17-996, SW 17-998, SW 17-1047, SW 17-1048, and SW 17-1091. Two phrases will be redacted from SW 17-984 through SW 17-996 as in SW 17-1047 and SW 17-1048.

Patch Media has reached out to LVMPD for comment.

UPDATE (1:30 p.m.): In a separate decision, District Court Judge Timothy Williams ruled on Tuesday that autopsy reports from the Oct. 1 incident are also public record.

Read the full order from Las Vegas District Court Judge Elissa Cadish

Image via LVMPD Preliminary Investigative Report