LAS VEGAS (KLAS)- Dylan Ihmels, 25, faces multiple charges including attempted murder.
It was revealed in court Thursday that the victim in the alleged attack has gone through multiple surgeries.
But there are questions surrounding the capacity of Ihmels to truly understand what is going on, and why he did it.
“He does not seem to understand the nature of the charges,” Josh Tomsheck, the attorney representing Ihmels said.
“I don’t know if he is a danger to the community or not, I don’t know if he understands his interactions with the community for, he himself to know if he’s a danger to the community,” Tomsheck said.
An arrest report revealed on the night of Aug 13. Ihmels approached the victim at the Main Street Station parking lot and then started fighting with him.
A friend of the victim told police the two men went to the ground and Ihmels took out a knife and stabbed the victim multiple times.
The arrest report later showed the victim was stabbed “30-40” times.
The arrest report said it was “beef over money.”
“The evidence actually points to an unprovoked attack,” the prosecutors said in court.
“He does have a long history of mental illness his family is present in the courtroom with his mother and stepfather,” Tomsheck said.
His mother is Sally Ihmels, who serves as the assistant city manager for the city of North Las Vegas. She was present in court Thursday and walked in with her son.
When her son Dylan Ihmels was first arrested earlier this month, court documents say he was out on house arrest with electronic monitoring and was not required to post bail.
On Thursday, Judge Melissa Saragosa ordered Ihmels to be put in custody so he could get a mental evaluation. The evaluation was not done before his initial appearance earlier this month.
However, Ihmels is accused of a violent crime and was not placed in custody from the beginning. 8 News Now asked his attorney Tomsheck if this was normal practice.
A statement was sent to 8 News Now from Attorney Josh Tomsheck and is provided below.
Mr. Ihmels was arrested at approximately 9pm on August 13, 2023, immediately following an incident which occurred at downtown parking lot. Mr. Ihmels was booked into the Clark County Detention Center following his arrest. The very next day, on August 14, 2023, he had his initial appearance in the Las Vegas Justice Court before an Pro Tem Justice of the Peace. As the State had not yet formally filed charges related to the incident and Mr. Ihmels lack of background provided for a low risk assessment, he was released, without a cash bail requirement, and Ordered to high level electronic monitoring. The case was set for a short course Status Check on the filing of a Criminal Complaint. This is not at all unusual and, in fact, would be an expected result given these circumstances. At the time he had his initial appearance, I was not yet retained as his counsel and his family was unaware of the incident, his arrest, or the initial Court appearance. The following day, on August 15, 2023, I was retained to represent Mr. Ihmels. Thereafter, I appeared on his behalf on August 16, 2023, and set the matter for further proceedings, specifically a Preliminary Hearing. Upon being placed on electronic monitoring and outfitted with an ankle-worn monitor, Mr. Ihmels was released. After meeting with my client, I have legitimate concerns about his competency to face the charges against him, namely that he appears, at present, to be incapable of understand the nature of the charges against him, the purpose of the court proceedings, and to aid me as his counsel in his defense. As I am not a doctor, it is imperative under NRS Chapter 178 that Dylan be evaluated by more than one professional certified to perform competency evaluations and to report those findings to the Court. After evaluation, necessary treatment and a return to competency, we will be in a position to properly address Dylan’s custody status and how to resolve this matter going forward.
Tomsheck told 8 News Now, that his representation has nothing to do with the job status of his client’s mom.
As of right now, we do not know if the victim and Ihmels knew each other.
For the next two weeks, doctors will evaluate Ihmels to see if he is competent enough to face charges in court.
When 8 News Now reporter Victoria Saha approached Sally Ihmels, regarding her son’s case she did not want to comment.
