LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Longtime Clark County Juvenile Justice Services Probation Officer Kevin Eppenger also serves as the President of the Juvenile Justice Probation Officers’ Association. It’s the union that all sworn officers belong to. He’s been their leader for nine years.
He told Channel 13 his work is rewarding, and that it’s working “in the capacity of law enforcement but it also has that social worker piece.”
Eppenger said it’s about meeting youth where they are, whether they’re inside the 192-bed Clark County Juvenile Detention Center, or back home and on probation.
But among the sworn officers serving this population, Channel 13 noticed four that have recently been on the wrong side of the law. Only one is still working for the department.
It led us to Eppenger, who called some of the allegations disturbing.
WATCH | Senior reporter Mary Kielar sat down with Eppenger and explains the latest on the allegations:
Eddie Lee Wide Jr.
Eddie Lee Wide Jr. worked as a probation officer from May 1996 until this past May. Eppenger said he retired, and records show it wasn’t long after he was arrested in April by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Channel 13 obtained records that show he’s accused of two felonies: sexual conduct with a child, and child abuse or neglect. The arrest report shows text messages between him and a child on probation that allegedly led to four meetups between the two.
He’s due back in court in August.
His son, Eddie Lee Wide III, was a juvenile probation officer from January 2014 until December 2025. Channel 13’s previous reporting shows he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after Clark County leaders said he fatally shot a person in the northwest valley.
Jerrell Roberts
Jerrell Roberts spent nearly a decade working in various positions in Clark County’s Juvenile Justice Services system. He was hired in June of 2016, and the county said his date of separation is Nov. 7, 2025.
Roberts was arrested in August 2025 for allegedly impersonating a lawyer at a court hearing where he used a Nevada State Bar number that belongs to someone else.
Regarding the two former officers, Eppenger said, “You sit back and you think what could contribute to that?”
“Knowing those two gentlemen personally, those are uncharacteristic behaviors that personally I didn’t see," he added.
Damian Storla
Storla was hired in June of 2016 and is still employed. He’s served as a juvenile probation officer, and as of January 2024, he is a Juvenile Justice Manager.
He was arrested in August 2025 for DUI, and records show this was his first DUI arrest. His case was closed as of January.
Increased scrutiny of Juvenile Justice Services in Clark County and the state
We’re learning more about these cases at a time when there is a spotlight on conditions inside juvenile detention centers across Nevada, including Clark County’s detention center for kids.
A lawsuit filed in April alleges widespread sexual and physical abuse of detained youth by the officers charged with watching over them.
Ninety-three survivors claim they were abused at some point between 2001 and 2024.
John Munoz, the current director of Clark County Juvenile Justice Services, is currently on administrative leave due to a department investigation. County leaders told Channel 13 his leave is not related to the lawsuit.
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Clark County Juvenile Justice Services director placed on leave
How juvenile probation officers get hired
Considering all this, Channel 13 wanted to find out more about how Clark County juvenile probation officers get hired.
“You apply for the job and then from there you do a physical exam, interview, they have a polygraph, they have a psychological, and then also a personal history questionnaire where they call your references and they look into your history," Eppenger explained.
We asked specifically about Eddie Lee Wide Jr., and Eppenger said he was hired before the measures he described to us. So, it’s hard to know if any red flags would’ve come out during his hiring process in the 90s.
“We’re hoping that through that process that kind of picks up those types of flags and those types of indicators to prevent those types of individuals from being hired,” Eppenger said.
Reflections
“Do you think I think those are just four outliers? I do think that," Eppenger said about the four cases we brought to him. "Looking into all of the situations, I think people learn from other people and what they do, and one of the good things is that we pushed, and in partnership with management we do have access to counselors, and the issue now is getting people to want to talk. Getting people out there to talk. To connect to the mental health providers to have those conversations.”
He said that this is not indicative of the whole department of sworn officers. But added that they’re burnt out.
“Picking up the double shifts, the extra amount of time to work,” Eppenger said.
He explained that Clark County Juvenile Justice Services is seeing a critical labor shortage. Eppenger told Channel 13 that they’ve lost 126 of their probation staff members since 2020. They’ve got 190 officers now, with a 62% turnover rate, he said.
That, plus the challenges that come with working with kids in this setting, is making it hard to keep officers long-term.
Eppenger said he’s always working to encourage them to keep serving our valley’s youngest community members after they get in trouble.
