High-profile drug case prosecutor Schubert arrested on cocaine charge

A Clark County prosecutor assigned to some of Las Vegas' most high-profile drug cases was arrested Saturday after police say he bought crack cocaine from a street dealer.

David Charles Schubert, 47, was arrested Saturday and booked on a possession of cocaine charge, according to jail records.

Schubert was arrested by a Las Vegas police patrol officer at 4:51 p.m. near Desert Inn Road and Maryland Parkway.

The patrol officer saw what he thought was a drug transaction and stopped Schubert's vehicle near Sierra Vista Drive and Cambridge Street, police said.

The alleged drug dealer told police that Schubert, who he knew as "Joe," had bought $40 worth of crack cocaine from him two or three times a week for the past six or seven months. The dealer is not in custody. Police said they found cocaine in Schubert's car, along with a handgun and large amount of ammunition.

Schubert, a chief deputy district attorney, recently prosecuted the Bruno Mars and Paris Hilton celebrity drug cases.

District Attorney David Roger said Schubert was also the prosecutor he assigned to a federal drug task force.

Roger said he was notified almost immediately after the arrest and worked with detectives to secure warrants for a blood sample and Schubert's two Las Vegas homes.

"It's disheartening to know the individual who I assigned to prosecute high-level drug cases is allegedly using rock cocaine," Roger said.

He said Schubert has been suspended and is in the process of being terminated. Investigators are looking into whether he might have compromised prior investigations.

"His future is bleak with the district attorney's office," Roger said.

David Chesnoff, the Las Vegas attorney who represented both Hilton and Mars in their cocaine possession cases, wouldn't speak negatively about Schubert.

"I'm a big believer in the Constitution," Chesnoff said. "I believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty. And I always root for the underdog.

"I will say this: David's always been a real professional and always treated me with respect, so I wish him the best."

Hilton, a celebrity socialite, was arrested in August after an officer found 0.8 grams of cocaine in her handbag after a traffic stop. She pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to probation.

Mars, a pop singer, songwriter and producer whose real name is Peter Hernandez, agreed to plead guilty to felony cocaine possession and was sentenced to a year of informal probation. If completed, Mars will be allowed to withdraw the plea, and the case will be dismissed.

Schubert graduated from the Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He was admitted to the State Bar of Nevada in 2001. He joined the district attorney's office in 2002.

He has prosecuted several high-profile cases, including that of New York-New York casino shooter Steven Zegrean, who was convicted in 2009 for the 2007 attack that left four people wounded.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.