LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A city of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue captain has been arrested on charges, including domestic battery.
Sheldon Plehn also faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and battery resulting in substantial bodily harm.
According to an arrest report, on Dec. 8 at about 8:20 p.m., an unidentified couple was traveling on U.S. 95 on Cold Creek Road when a woman, covered in blood, flagged them down urgently and asked them to call 911.
A man later identified as her husband, Plehn, was nearby telling the woman to get into his car.
The couple had the woman get into their car and took her to get medical attention.
Plehn was seen driving back toward Cold Creek.
After the incident, the woman told officers she had been married to Plehn for about three and a half years but that the couple was in the process of separating.
On this day, an argument ensued between the couple at their home in Cold Creek, and when the woman told Plehn she was leaving, he reportedly replied, "don't you dare leave."
When the woman attempted to leave, the arrest report states Plehn repeatedly pushed the panic button on her Jeep so it would not start, but she was eventually able to start the vehicle and drive off.
Plehn followed in this Tesla, caught up with her, cut her off and would not allow her to continue driving, according to the report.
When the woman called her parents for help from the Jeep, Plehn reached into the Jeep, took the phone from her and broke it.
Plehn then opened the vehicle's door and grabbed her by the hair to pull her out of the car, ripping out the victim's extensions.
Police said he then put her in a headlock choke hold and dragged her out of the vehicle where he then threw her into the exterior of the car "like a ragdoll," which caused a laceration on her head.
The victim attempted to fight him off initially but realized that she was not going to win and got into the passenger seat of her vehicle in the hopes that he would stop hurting her.
She begged Plehn to call for help due the amount of blood pouring out of her head.
When she realized that he was not going to call for help, she jumped out of the car as she saw another vehicle approaching and flagged them down.
The couple called 911 and met medical personnel further down U.S. 95 where they determined that she would have to be transported to a hospital.
The woman's head wound required four staples.
She told investigators that she was convinced that Plehn would have killed her if the couple had not been passing by at that time.
Plehn ignored attempts by police officials to reach him by phone but eventually turned himself in on Dec. 10.
Court records showed his house arrest conditions included electronic monitoring, and surrendering his firearms to his father.
He also was ordered to stay away from his wife.
District Attorney Steve Wolfson says the conditions are appropriate, and Plehn is not receiving any special treatment because he is a firefighter.
"One could even argue that this is harsher and more restrictive than a bail setting because with bail somebody posts the amount and they're free to do whatever they want. Under this kind of restriction Plehn is now being watched," Wolfson said.
Plehn's preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 30.
