21-year-old inmate at Nevada’s maximum-security prison dies

A 21-year-old inmate at High Desert State Prison, Nevada’s maximum-security facility, died by suicide on Wednesday, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

Nhiyje Roberson was serving a sentence for attempted murder with a deadly weapon enhancement.

Roberson was indicted in 2019 in connection with a shooting that injured several students at Cheyenne High School in North Las Vegas. Roberson was 16 at the time.

Violence, medical concerns at state prisons

The prison’s status as the state’s highest security facility is new. In September, around 2,000 inmates were transferred between High Desert and Ely State Prison, Nevada’s former max-security facility that now has medium-security status.

The swap followed what prison officials called “an uptick in gang activity and violence” at Ely. The violence claimed the life of Antonio Talavera, an inmate at Ely who was stabbed to death in April at the age of 38. In July, three other men were killed in a fight.

The transfer itself was not without controversy, though it went smoothly and without incident, prison officials said.

In September, corrections officers filed a complaint against their employer, the Nevada Department of Corrections, alleging that the department neglected to heed safety concerns from officers regarding the transportation between prisons, which was completed by Sept. 11.

After the transfer was complete, two inmates at High Desert were hospitalized after a stabbing at the prison on Sept. 18. And on Nov. 7, Hawk Urban, a 27-year-old inmate at High Desert, was stabbed to death after a fight with his cellmate, according to Urban’s mother, Selma Belle.

Back in September 2022, a 70-year-old inmate at High Desert named Mitchell Harris was bludgeoned to death by his cellmate. In September of this year, his family filed a lawsuit saying that he had made multiple prior requests to transfer out of his cell because of safety concerns.

This summer, Jeremy Bean, the prison’s warden, distributed a memo to all medical providers saying that there had been instances of failures to provide medical care, but the Nevada Department of Corrections did not elaborate on what these lapses were.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a loved one or friend, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estellelilym on X and @estelleatkinson.bsky.social on Bluesky.