A judge Monday rejected the attempt of an attorney for embattled Metropolitan Police Department Sgt. Kevin Menon to stop representing him because of his client’s concerns about his son working as a police officer with witnesses who will testify against Menon.
Menon is accused of possessing more than 500 sexual images of young girls, including some showing sexual assault, and, in a separate case, illegally detaining people on the Las Vegas Strip.
His court-appointed attorney, Philip Singer, filed a motion Feb. 11 to withdraw from the child sexual abuse material case, citing “a conflict of interest” because his son is a patrol officer in the Convention Center Area Command, where many of the people testifying against Menon also work.
District Judge Ronald Israel seemed skeptical that the situation posed a conflict.
“The issue raised is that somehow you would be incapable of cross-examining the state’s witnesses,” he said. “Do you feel that you would be unable to cross-examine the state’s witnesses?”
Singer replied: “I don’t feel that way, but that’s about the way my client feels.”
Israel said Singer is an effective attorney who has “not given any mercy to Metro” in the past. He told Menon his concern was “completely unfounded” and “borderlines on frivolous.”
But attorney Dominic Gentile, who previously represented Menon in the sexual abuse material case and is still his lawyer in the Strip case, said he believes Singer has a conflict because Singer’s son is supervised by Menon’s bosses, who are “key witnesses” in the case against Menon.
Menon remains on unpaid leave, according to Gentile.
Singer said after court that Israel’s decision was “a surprise.”
“I don’t want to ruin my son’s career,” he said, but Singer added that he thought he would no have difficulty asking tough questions on his client’s behalf.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.
