RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Las Vegas entertainer who lost his job on a cruise ship while jailed in rural Nevada on $675,000 bail for a burglary is suing two counties for holding him 18 days illegally before his release in a bizarre case of mistaken identity.
Sean Laughlin accuses Lyon and Nye counties of violating the U.S. Constitution and Nevada law requiring that jailed suspects see a judge within 72 hours.
His lawyer, Terri Keyser-Cooper, tells The Associated Press the nightmare began in 2016 when a state trooper stopped Laughlin for a minor traffic offense in Carson City.
A warrant check showed he was wanted for failure to appear in court for a burglary in Pahrump, 385 miles (620 kilometers) away. But it turned out it was a different Sean Laughlin accused of the $3,800 theft.
It took 18 days for him to be released.