LAS VEGAS -- For months, the I-Team has investigated an off-duty incident involving a courthouse marshal, his neighbor, and a gun resulting in a criminal conviction for the marshal.
When we first broke the story that Best had been arrested for holding a neighbor at gunpoint, the court refused to answer questions about the incident, calling it a personnel matter.
Though Marshal Travis Best is currently on probation, he is also back on the job.
"This is ridiculous," said Greg Ordaz, the man involved in the incident with Best. "It seems that once you get into a position of law enforcement, that you no longer have to abide by the rules. It's only set up for citizens like myself. And if the same situation being in a reversed role, I'd be locked up today, doing the interview from jail."
Though Ordaz and Best have different versions of their encounter in June of 2010, Best acknowledges in a police report he drew his gun to stop Ordaz from allegedly speeding toward a group of teens in the street.
Though initially cited for a felony weapons charge, Best pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, a gross misdemeanor.
"I'm still a victim here and the man who threatened to kill me has got a job," said Ordaz.
According to the court, Best returned to work after one month of paid administrative leave followed by 10 days without pay.
In a written statement, Justice of the Peace Conrad Hafen says, "From January 2011 to the present, Marshal Travis Best has served as the Marshal in Justice Court Department 14. During this period, Marshal Best has performed his duties and responsibilities in the courtroom in a professional and exemplary manner. As a result, Marshal Best will continue to serve in that capacity."
"If somebody pleads to a misdemeanor, I don't know that I would say they'd have to lose their job over it. I'd want to know a lot more facts. But most importantly, I'd like those facts to be determined by somebody who's really a neutral body and a neutral adjudicator and not just somebody he works with who says he's a good kid generally, let's let it go," said UNLV Law Professor Jeff Stempel.
The court has refused to release their internal investigation and contrary to state law, the court failed to properly notify the Peace Officer Standard's and Training Commission, the body that certifies law enforcement, about the incident. POST's deputy director says a review is now under way.
For his part, Ordaz remains beyond frustrated, left without faith in the legal system.
"I cannot rely upon our judicial system to do the right thing, so be it. No wonder why we have so many attorneys in the phone book," he said.
Ordaz says he is exploring his own legal options. In the meantime, Best is serving one year of probation. If he completes it successfully, his conviction will be reduced to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
