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Man Says He Got Tigers From Joe Exotic. Now, an Arrest

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Man Says He Got Tigers From Joe Exotic. Now, an Arrest


A Nevada man has been arrested after cops raided his home and seized seven tigers—some of whom he says he got from reality-TV star Joe Exotic—that he says were his “emotional support animals.” NBC News reports the raid went down on Wednesday in Pahrump, where 71-year-old Karl Mitchell was detained on suspicion of resisting arrest. Police there say Mitchell didn’t have the proper permit that Nye County requires to own the tigers, and that he had breached other rules over the years.

“He has been seen walking the tigers loose around the property, off the property in the desert,” Sheriff Joe McGill tells KSNV, adding that the probe into Mitchell began several months ago. “There have been social media posts from him with people interacting with the cats, which is also in violation.” Mitchell, for his part, says he’s a veteran with PTSD—and his partner did produce a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs that appeared to show that was the case—and that he’d saved some of the tigers in his charge from the Tiger King star.

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A VA rep tells the New York Times they’re looking into Mitchell’s emotional support claim, but Joe Exotic (real name: Joseph Maldonado-Passage) is pushing back on the other part of Mitchell’s narrative. “None of these tigers came from me,” Maldonado-Passage said in a recent interview from prison, where he’s serving a 21-year sentence for a failed murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin. The USDA, meanwhile, says Mitchell violated multiple cease-and-desist orders over the years to not exhibit the tigers and has been hit with almost $70,000 worth of fines.

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“They give me calmness, peace,” Mitchell tells the Times. “They are our whole life, and they’re our children.” Mitchell, who was arrested after deputies say he wouldn’t hand over the keys to the tiger cages during the raid, also caught a gun possession charge and was released from custody that same evening on $6,000 bail. He’s next set to appear in court on May 15. McGill says other charges may arise, especially as some of the tigers seemed to be underweight and allegedly had water dishes filled with algae. The tigers were reportedly transported to a sanctuary in Arkansas. (More emotional support animal stories.)

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5A baseball roundup: Gorman beats Centennial, reaches state tourney — PHOTOS

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5A baseball roundup: Gorman beats Centennial, reaches state tourney — PHOTOS


Alex LaRosa hit for a .262 batting average in 50 plate appearances for the Bishop Gorman baseball team through its 32 games played entering Thursday.

But with a chance for the Gaels to punch their ticket to the Class 5A state tournament, LaRosa came up with the biggest swing of his season.

LaRosa hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning and broke a tie game, which proved to be the deciding run in Gorman’s 8-4 win over Centennial on Thursday night at Durango High in a 5A Southern Region winners bracket final.

The Gaels (28-6) have qualified for the 5A state tournament, which begins May 14 at Las Vegas High. The Gaels also advance to Saturday’s 5A Southern Region title game at 10 a.m. Saturday at Durango.

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“My teammates, they just push me to be better in everything to do,” LaRosa said. “I know if I get on, they’re going to to get the job done and score me. My job, hitting in the bottom of the lineup is making sure I get on base anyway I can. I just put a good swing on the ball and it got out.”

Centennial falls to the losers bracket final and will play either Arbor View or Palo Verde at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Durango to determine Gorman’s opponent for Saturday and the South’s second spot in the state tournament. Arbor View and Palo Verde play in an earlier elimination at 4 p.m. Friday at Durango to determine Centennial’s opponent.

”It feels good, we fell short the last couple of years (of reaching the state tournament),” LaRosa said. “It just feels good to finall be in it and hopefully we keep going and win it.”

LaRosa’s blast was much needed after a disastrous bottom of the fifth inning for Gorman. The Gaels led 4-0, but Centennial (25-10) cut into the deficit when Jaxon Burr singled which scored Chase Hurley, who led the inning off with a triple.

Then Jake Turner hit a fly ball to left-center field, and as Gorman center fielder DeMari Hall and Logan Grubbs dived for the ball, they collided and the ball went all the way to the wall for a two-run, inside-the-park home run.

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Four batters later, Gorman catcher Austin Argenta threw to first base to pick off runner Trevor Henson, but Argenta’s throw was wild and sailed into left field, scoring Kane Barber from second, tying the game.

“I had just given a speech right before we went out to hit that we were good, we weren’t losing this game,” LaRosa said. “We’re still in this game and the dugout went crazy. We just exploded after that.”

LaRosa, who finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, followed up with his home run in the top of the sixth, which hit the top of the left field fence. That caused a brief discussion between the three umpires before they confirmed it was a home run.

“I was just looking for a fastball to drive into the gap so my teammates could drive me in, but I got lucky, back spun it and it got out of here,” LaRosa said. “At first, I thought it was gone and then I looked up and the ball bounced back in the field.

“Then the (umpire) told me it was a home run and I kind of blacked out. It was a surreal feeling.”

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Grubbs added an RBI single in the top of the seventh for Gorman. Chase Wilk was 2-for-4 with a home run in the second, a run scored during a three-run Gorman fourth inning and an RBI on a ground out in the seventh.

Justin Rodrigues had a two-run double in the fourth capped off the fourth inning for Gorman, which put the Gaels ahead 4-0. Rodriguez went 2-for-4 and recorded the final three outs on the mound for the Gaels.

Hurley and Burr each had two hits and a run scored for Centennial.

“It feels good, just returning to a national powerhouse that we were,” LaRosa said. “It’s the standard to be in the state tournament every year and compete for that state championship. So it feels good to bring the culture back to Gorman.”

Other 5A baseball results

No. 2S Arbor View 11, No. 2M Faith Lutheran 3: At Durango, Devin Martin’s two-run home run capped off an eight-run fourth inning for Arbor View, which helped the Aggies (30-7) roll past Faith Lutheran (16-15) in a 5A Southern Region elimination game.

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In the fourth inning against Faith Lutheran, the Aggies scored twice on bases loaded walk, a wild pitch, a two-run single from Rhett Bryce and an RBI single by Angelo Ugarte before Martin hit his home run.

Martin finished with three RBIs and Ugarte added two RBIs. Rookie Shepard and Kingston Kela each recorded an RBI for Faith Lutheran.

No. 3M Palo Verde 7, No. 2D Desert Oasis 5: At Durango, Stone Amsden’s grand slam highlighted a seven-run seventh inning to give Palo Verde the lead, and the Panthers (26-8) held on to beat Desert Oasis (26-8-1) in an elimination game.

Desert Oasis, the Desert League’s No. 2 seed, led 4-0 entering the seventh. Owen Anderson and Matthew Simmler each had an RBI single, and Kyle Johnson scored in a wild pitch before Amsden’s homer put the Panthers, the Mountain League’s No. 3 seed ahead.

Amsden finished 2-for-4 for Palo Verde. The Panthers had just six hits.

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Lincoln Guillermo was 2-for-4 with a home run for Desert Oasis, and Brody Griffith was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Landon O’Dell had an RBI single for the Diamondbacks and Aidan Smith added an RBI and a run scored.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.



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‘Egregiously unsafe’: Nevada attorney general sues Discord

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‘Egregiously unsafe’: Nevada attorney general sues Discord


LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Another platform is coming under fire by the State of Nevada over alleged unsafe conditions for children.

On Wednesday, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford filed a lawsuit against Discord, which is a communication platform that facilitates instant, text, and chat messaging as well as voice and video calls. Users are also able to share media, including photos and videos.

“Discord’s popularity with minors also makes it popular with a much more dangerous cohort: child predators, who seek to groom and exploit minor users,” the 100-page complaint reads in part. “Discord knows that the children on its platform are at risk, and further knows that children and their parents and guardians are afraid of malicious actors on the platform. Yet Discord has done very little to protect these children, and has refused to implement safety features that it knows would greatly ameliorate the risk.”

The complaint lists several cases as alleged proof that the platform is dangerous:

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  • In 2023, a Las Vegas man was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a minor and producing child pornography of his victim, whom he groomed on Discord.
  • In 2024, a Reno man was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime supervised release for grooming a minor on Discord.
  • In 2025, a sting captured eight individuals who had used Discord — among other communications platforms — to solicit sex from law enforcement agents posing as children.

According to the complaint, a group called 764, which was located on a Discord server that contained violent videos and “how-to” guides on sexually exploiting and extorting minors online, “has acknowledged a presence in Nevada”. The FBI’s Las Vegas field office is part of one or more of the agency’s 250 investigations into the organization.

Ford’s team also alleges that Discord has several flaws in its design, which is putting children at risk. For example, insufficient barriers for strangers contacting children, misleading and/or ineffective filters, parental control issues, and an “absence of age or identity verification in the account creation process.”

In February 2026, Discord tried to implement a requirement where users had to authenticate their age “with a face scan or by uploading a form of ID if they want to access adult content.” However, the complaint states that after user backlash to that announcement, “Discord immediately went into damage control mode and walked backed its commitment.”

According to the complaint, Ford’s team is seeking civil penalties of up to $15,000 per violation of the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act and up to $25,000 for each violation directed at a minor.

Discord has denied the claims made in the complaint and sent Channel 13 the following statement:

“The lawsuit’s characterization of Discord does not reflect the platform we have built or the investments we have made in user safety. Discord is a communications platform built to connect people around playing games. Users join Discord communities intentionally, based on their interests, and unlike social media, the platform has no algorithmic feed, infinite scroll, or public “likes” pushing content to mass audiences.

Our safety systems combine advanced technology and human-led investigations, alongside user reports to help identify accounts or spaces engaged in harmful activity, including exploitative and child sexual abuse materials. We require all users to be at least 13 to use Discord and also provide teen users and their parents and guardians with important privacy and safety tools, including Teen Safety Assist and our Family Center. We look forward to collaborating with policymakers in working toward a safer online experience for all users on Discord and across the internet.”

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Discord Spokesperson

This is not the only platform that is facing lawsuits in Nevada.

Last month, Ford announced the State of Nevada had reached a settlement with the online gaming platform Roblox.

In addition to abuse concerns, 13 Investigates partnered with ABC News Investigates to tell you how teenagers were being recruited on Roblox to become hackers.

WATCH: 2023 cybersecurity incidents lead to Nevada Gaming Control Board changes

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2023 cybersecurity incidents lead to Nevada Gaming Control Board changes

As part of that settlement, Roblox officials agreed to several changes to make the platform safer, including age verification, content control, enhanced parental controls, and agreements to spend $2.5 million for online safety awareness campaigns as well as workshops and training for law enforcement.

APRIL 2026: Nevada reaches settlement with gaming platform Roblox

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FULL PRESSER: State of Nevada reaches settlement with online gaming platform Roblox

Ford’s office has filed similar consumer protection lawsuits against TikTok, Snap, Meta, YouTube, and Kik, all alleging harmful design features and a lack of common-sense online safety measures for children.

According to Ford’s office, they’re set to go to trial against TikTok and Snap next year.

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New campaign helps fans find Nevada’s iconic movie, TV scenes

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New campaign helps fans find Nevada’s iconic movie, TV scenes


LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada is teaming up with a screen tourism app to help visitors find, and go to, the real-world locations behind famous movie and TV moments.

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Film Nevada announced a new partnership with SetJetters, an app that maps filming locations around the world and encourages users to visit them in person.

Film Nevada Director Kim Spurgeon says the app makes it easier for fans to “relive their favorite cinematic moments,” pointing to Nevada staples like The Shootist house in Carson City, Genoa’s main street featured in Misery, the Ocean’s Eleven closing scene at the Fountains of Bellagio, and the Hangover quote many visitors still repeat in Las Vegas: “Did Caesar live here?”

AMPLIFIED: New guidebook highlights hidden gems across Las Vegas for locals, visitors alike

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So what changes for movie fans—and for Nevada tourism?

Through the SetJetters campaign, users will be able to discover more movie, TV, and video-game locations across Nevada, along with additional film-related points of interest. There’s also a new Las Vegas-area badge users can earn by visiting 12 select scenes, and the app allows people to submit filming locations they think should be included.

“Screen tourism is no longer a niche campaign idea; it’s a core travel channel,” said SetJetters CEO Erik Nachtrieb. “Nevada’s cinematic history, from mountain and desert backdrops to the neon of Las Vegas and Reno, makes it a natural stage for this next phase of bringing films to the state. The real opportunity now is conversion, and this is exactly where Film Nevada’s partnership with SetJetters comes in. What we’re really looking at is the evolution from destination marketing to destination storytelling with screen content at the center.”

You can download the app from Apple or Google.

Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.

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