Child pornography charges against brother of Las Vegas gunman dropped

Child pornography charges against a brother of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock were dropped a day after prosecutors asked a judge to postpone the case because a witness was unavailable, officials said.

A judge denied the request May 30, leaving prosecutors unable to move forward with their case against Bruce Douglas Paddock, 59, who was accused of possessing more than 600 pornographic images of children, said Paul Eakins, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors plan on refiling charges, Eakins said.

Paddock was arrested at a Valley Village nursing home in October and charged with 20 counts of sexual exploitation of a child or possessing child pornography dating to 2014. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Authorities have said their investigation was unrelated to — and began before — the mass shooting that Paddock’s older brother carried out Oct. 1, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds more.

The inquiry began after evidence was found in a Sun Valley business where Bruce Paddock had been squatting, the Los Angeles Police Department said. That evidence was discovered after Paddock was evicted, police said.

Paddock was homeless at the time and investigators couldn’t find him, the LAPD said. They eventually tracked him to the Valley Village facility where he was arrested.

The Paddock family drew national attention in the wake of the Las Vegas rampage as police and the public tried to learn more about Stephen Paddock, whose motive remains a mystery. Stephen Paddock had three brothers; their father was a convicted bank robber who was once placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek