Quadruple murder conviction upheld

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of Vernal Evans Jr., sentenced to death for the shooting deaths of four people in a Las Vegas apartment in May 1992.

The court rejected the arguments by attorneys for Evans that District Judge Jeffrey Sobel gave improper jury instructions, that he should have prevented a prosecution witness from testifying and that the prosecutor made prejudicial remarks during the penalty phase.

On May 1, 1992, the night of the riots in West Las Vegas following the Rodney King verdicts in Los Angeles, Samantha Scotti, Jermaine Woods, Steven Walker and Lisa Boyer were found shot to death in a Wardelle Street apartment.

A 4-year-old girl was present and told police that two men came into the apartment and shot the four adults.

The child testified at the trial and said the armed intruders were "Scary Eyes" and "Little Ray." But she was unable to identify Evans as "Little Ray" either in court or in a lineup at the jail.

Evans, however, apparently admitted his involvement in the killing to Shirannah Rice, who testified at the trial. Rice said she was told by Evans that Samantha Scotti was killed because she had been working as a police informant and had set up Richard Powell in a drug deal. Evans told Rice that Powell wanted to kill Scotti.

Evans reportedly told Rice that he and Powell went to the apartment and killed the four. He said the other three victims "were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Another witness, Joseph Salley, testified that Evans told him about the shooting. But attorneys for Evans produced a girlfriend who said Evans was with her all night. And they argued that it was other men who were responsible for the killings.

Powell was never charged.

Evans, through his lawyers, said blacks were under-represented on his jury panel. But the court found that seven blacks had been included in the 75 potential jurors. The census shows 8.3 percent of the population in Clark County is black and that blacks comprised 9.3 percent of the potential jurors.

The court rejected the argument that Salley should not have been allowed to testify because he had attended the opening two days of the trial. Attorneys for Evans said Salley should have been disqualified because witnesses were excluded from the trial. The court said evidence shows Salley was not influenced by the testimony he heard.

The court turned down claims that Judge Sobel should have given an instruction offered by the defense defining deliberation, that Sobel should have granted a motion for acquittal even though the jury found Evans guilty, and that the aggravating circumstances found by the jury in the penalty phase should not have been allowed.

The decision, written by Chief Justice Thomas Steffen, said, "The record in this case reflects ample evidence that Evans, himself, killed, attempted to kill, or intended that a killing take place when he participated in the killings on May 1, 1992."

Steffen said the evidence also supports the conclusion that Evans intended to make Scotti suffer by first shooting her in her breast and then her fingers and then in her head, face and shoulder. She was shot eight times.

In other decisions, the Supreme Court:

* Reinstated a civil suit brought by Vernon Rockwell Jr. and his son Andrew against Sun Harbor Budget Suites in Las Vegas where they were living. Rockwell's wife, Londa, had an affair with Sun Harbor security guard Said Thamar but sought to break it off. Thamar shot her to death and was convicted of second-degree murder. The husband and son filed suit on grounds that Sun Harbor was negligent in the hiring, training and supervision of Thamar, who had troubles in previous employment and had also been convicted of a sex offense. Former District Judge Gerard Bongiovanni granted a pre-trial summary judgment in favor of Sun Harbor but the court, in a decision written by Rose, reinstated the suit.

* Imposed a $5,000 fine on attorney Robert D. Walker of Las Vegas for repeatedly failing to pursue an appeal on behalf of his client, Richard Hansen. The court said Walker exhibited "dilatory conduct" in not getting the record of the trial to the Supreme Court. Hansen had sued Valley Hospital and some physicians for $2 million for malpractice but lost at a trial in District Court in October 1993. The court said it gave Walker numerous extensions to file the record of the trial with the court but he failed. The court allowed the appeal to continue despite Walker's actions.

* Ruled that the Sunrise Villas VIII Homeowners Association in Las Vegas cannot receive $5,563 for attorney fees from homeowner William Eversole in their battle over holding an election for a board of directors. Eversole gathered signatures of 41 percent of the residents to force an election, which had been refused by the officers of the association. The case ended up in court and an agreement was reached to hold the election. Eversole lost his bid to be elected. District Judge Joseph Bonaventure then ruled that Eversole must pay election-related legal fees to the association. But the Supreme Court said Eversole followed the legal procedure in forcing an election and no attorney fees should have been imposed.