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The 59-year-old was convicted of killing a fellow Las Vegas police officer in 1997. According to court records, the incident happened in December of 1996. Mortensen was celebrating his birthday with his fellow Metropolitan Police Department Officer Christopher Brady and drinking heavily. Allegedly, the duo then drove to McKellar Circle.
From there, things get cloudy. Brady alleges that Mortensen was a passenger and fired a gun from the truck, but Mortensen claims that Brady was the shooter.
Strangely, Brady was never prosecuted by the District Attorney’s office. He was treated as a witness to the crime. In an appeal of Mortensen’s conviction, it was discovered that prosecutors in the original murder case suppressed evidence that Brady told a third unidentified officer that he wanted to conduct a drive-by shooting. This evidence would’ve supported Mortensen’s allegations that the shooting was Brady’s idea from the beginning. It would’ve also cast doubt on Brady’s testimony alleging that Mortensen was the shooter. During the appeal process, it was also revealed that Brady’s father was a longtime Metro officer, which may have played a role in his treatment by prosecutors.
It’s important to also note that a few years after this trial, Brady was sentenced to serve out nine years in prison after admitting to violating the civil rights of Hispanic people in a totally unrelated federal case.
Mortenson, on the other hand, had previously served in the military, was married, and had an otherwise clean criminal record.
Together, these facts led a federal judge to vacate the 1997 murder conviction levied against Ronald Mortensen. Despite that, the former officer will remain in prison until it’s determined how the case will proceed. The attorney general’s office has the opportunity to bring an appeal to the overturned conviction, or Mortensen could face a second trial. Right now, it’s unclear whether the district attorney’s office would decide to retry the suspect considering the case is over 30 years old at this point.
If you’ve recently been accused of a crime here in Las Vegas, then it makes sense to be a little nervous about the potential of getting wrongfully convicted for a crime you’ve never committed. While this should never happen in theory, the reality is an estimated 1-6% of incarcerated inmates may be wrongfully convicted, according to the Innocence Project.
The best way to avoid this type of situation is to secure qualified, competent legal counsel if you get arrested and accused of a crime. A solid defense attorney can help shield you from unfair treatment by prosecutors by thoroughly looking into all the facts, circumstances, and theories surrounding the alleged criminal event.
Here at LV Criminal Defense, our team is prepared to go over your situation with you to help you determine your best options moving forward. Contact us now to schedule a free, confidential call about your charges.
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