John Jessup, 49, Shirley
HANCOCK COUNTY — Hancock County Commissioner John Jessup, 49, Shirley, was arrested and taken into custody by officials at the Shelby County Jail on Friday, June 14. Officials there say he is being held for officials in Clark County, Nevada, where he is facing a felony charge of sexual assault and will be transported there shortly. Local officials tell the Daily Reporter Jessup was arrested by officials from the Shirley Police Department, who made arrangements with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department prior to Jessup being arrested.
Hancock County Commissioner Bill Spalding released the following statement:
“John Jessup was arrested on an extradition warrant, issued to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, by the Shirley Police Department on Friday, 14 June. Mr. Jessup is currently being held at the Shelby County Jail pending extradition back to the state of Nevada.
The commissioners do not have much information regarding the reason for the arrest and will refrain from any comment while this out-of-state agency has a charge and an active investigation ongoing.
We will direct all further inquiry to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Office of Public Information. They can be reached at 1-702-828-3394. You may also be able to submit a request to their public records portal on their website.”
The Daily Reporter will have more on this as it develops. When the Daily Reporter asked Spalding why Jessup when arrested by the Shirley Police Department wasn’t taken to the county jail for lockup, Spalding said “that was an arrangement the Sheriff, Brad Burkhart, made with the Shirley Police Department to take Jessup to Shelby County.”
Sheriff Burkhart told the Daily Reporter he would never house a person who knows the inside and outside of the jail and has seen the plans, in the facility.
“It wasn’t a security risk, but I was not going to put him in this jail, so we made arrangements to have him taken to Shelby County,” Burkhart said.
