Subway sergeant pleads not guilty to charges that he orchestrated arrests on the Strip

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A suspended Las Vegas Metropolitan Police sergeant facing two separate criminal charges will appear in court early next year.

Kevin Menon pleaded not guilty in a Clark County courtroom Wednesday, accused of orchestrating bogus arrests on the Las Vegas Strip.

His trial on charges of harassment, battery of a protected person and incitement to perjury is scheduled for March 31.

Menon was later charged with possessing child sexual abuse material found during police searches in the first case.

Prosecutors Nick Portz and Christopher Hamner wanted to increase Menon’s bail, arguing he was a flight risk and a danger to the community because of additional child sex abuse charges.

Hamner called Menon a “pedophile” who stored nearly 600 graphic images of underage girls on four devices as “his treasures.” Prosecutors said the original bail amount was set before the child sexual abuse material was discovered.

But Menon’s lawyer, Dominic Gentile, assured the court that his client will not run, wears a GPS device and has Menon’s passport and a gun.

Gentile also said Menon works every day in his office and offered the court a representative letter from a local rabbi for consideration.

But prosecutors said the harassment case should not be “tried in a vacuum.”

Prosecutors also disputed the authenticity of a personal letter Menon submitted in his defense. In it, Menon said that he had transferred to Harvard University. He also said he was guaranteed admission to Harvard Medical School.

But prosecutors said an email from Harvard’s general counsel’s office showed there was no record of Menon attending Harvard University or Harvard Medical School. However, he took one graduate course at Harvard, which he dropped out of.

Prosecutors also called a transcript of Menon’s grades found on his computer a “fake.” They said it was a Word document that could be modified to suit your needs.

After hearing both arguments, District Court Judge Ronald Israel agreed with the prosecution and increased Menon’s bond to $150,000, taking into account all factors in the case. However, he allowed Menon to remain free on bail.

Menon’s wife was seen crying in court after the ruling.

Menon was given 24 hours to pay additional bail or be arrested. Gentile told Channel 13 that Menon is set to announce a new bail amount.

Gentile also said he was very pleased with the outcome of the hearing, calling himself doing the “Snoopy happy dance.” The lawyer said his client is a “good law enforcement officer” and asked people to wait until the trial to sentence him.