Bullhead City Police say a local couple planned in advance to kill a registered sex offender and dump his body in the desert, in a case that has now been upgraded to first-degree homicide.
Jacob Middlebrook, 35, and his girlfriend, Layne McIntosh, 36, were originally arrested on second-degree homicide charges in the death of 29-year-old Arron Christopher Warren. Police say the charges were upgraded to first-degree homicide on Monday.
The case began Saturday when a motorist found a dead man on the side of the road in the 3100 block of Silver Creek Road. Because the circumstances looked suspicious, detectives were called in to investigate it as a homicide. They later identified the victim as Warren, described by police as a Bullhead City “transient.”
Investigators identified a possible suspect and noticed that Warren’s vehicle was missing. Las Vegas Metro Police later helped Bullhead City detectives locate that vehicle parked at a casino in Laughlin, Nevada.
Middlebrook and McIntosh were taken into custody by Las Vegas Metro Police and booked into the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas. They are being held there pending extradition to Mohave County.
Police say Middlebrook and McIntosh were also local transients who had known Warren for several months. According to Bullhead City Police, the two “had expressed distaste for registered sex offenders and had planned the homicide in advance.”
Police allege the couple had picked out the desert location where they intended to leave Warren’s body ahead of time, and had also measured furniture or beds large enough to cover the body along the roadside. Warren was a registered Level 2 sex offender.
Police Chief Addresses Sex Offender Notifications
Bullhead City Police Chief Paul George issued a statement addressing how the department shares information about registered sex offenders living in the community, and warning against using that information to cause harm.
“When a Level 2 or Level 3 sex offender moves into our area or, more commonly, changes addresses, the Bullhead City Police Department shares that information as a public service to help keep residents informed. While required notifications are mailed to residents living within an approximate 1,000 feet radius of an offender’s registered address, we go a step further by sharing these notifications on social media to reach a broader audience. Our goal is to provide information, not create fear or alarm. We believe an informed community is a safer community.”
George added that the department’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations conducts monthly address verification checks to make sure registered sex offenders are complying with registration requirements.
“Our responsibility is to protect our community, keep residents informed and to enforce the law. We take all three of these seriously.”
George also said the department “will not tolerate anyone using this information as a reason to threaten, intimidate, harass or harm another person.”
