Grand jury indicts Strohmeyer

Bill Gang

Friday, Aug. 1, 1997 | 10:47 a.m.

The day after listening to a string of witnesses in a highly secured hearing room, a Clark County grand jury today indicted Jeremy Strohmeyer in the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl at a Primm casino.

The indictment sends the case directly to District Court for trial, bypassing a preliminary hearing that had been set for Aug. 28 before Goodsprings Justice of the Peace Janet Smith.

Smith had succumbed to pressure from defense attorneys for a blanket gag order in the high-profile case, but the transfer of the case to the District Court will let a new judge revisit that issue.

Until a district judge rescinds Smith's order, however, it remains in effect.

The indictment was sought because prosecutors were unwilling to wait a month for the preliminary hearing and then risk additional delays in the Justice Court proceedings.

Prosecutors have the option of using either a preliminary hearing or grand jury proceeding to determine if there is sufficient evidence for a defendant to be held for trial. The result of either process is that the case goes before a District Court judge for trial or other legal action.

Testimony in Thursday's proceeding against Strohmeyer began shortly after the grand jury convened at 8:30 a.m. in the Clark County Courthouse and continued most of the day.

Strohmeyer, an 18-year-old from Long Beach, Calif., is charged with pursuing the girl, Sherrice Iverson, into a women's restroom near the Primm Valley hotel-casino arcade, raping and then murdering her May 25.

He was arrested in California a few days later after security videotapes of a body-pierced man at the casino, 50 miles southwest of Las Vegas, were broadcast on Los Angeles television stations.

Strohmeyer, represented by California attorney Leslie Abramson and Las Vegas attorney Richard Wright, unsuccessfully fought extradition to Nevada but did delay his return for weeks.

Abramson even delayed the process for 10 days after California Gov. Pete Wilson signed the extradition documents to give her a chance to appeal the action to the California Supreme Court -- an action that never occurred.

The attorneys then managed to postpone for a month a tentative preliminary hearing date of July 30 in Smith's courtroom.

But District Attorney Stewart Bell -- who is personally prosecuting the case -- gave Strohmeyer notice of Thursday's grand jury proceeding to give him an opportunity to testify and give his attorneys the right to present any witnesses or evidence that might explain away the charges.

Bell had said at an early court hearing that he wasn't willing to put up with repeated delays in the case that has captured national attention and prompted changes in county ordinances to prevent children from playing unsupervised in casino arcades.

Two weeks after Strohmeyer's arraignment, defense attorneys finally agreed to an Aug. 28 preliminary hearing date. But Wright said before that occurs, Smith would have to rule on a challenge to the legality of the teenager's alleged confession to police giving details of the sexual assault and killing.

Such challenges could have delayed the proceedings for weeks and today's indictment allows the district attorney's office to push the case through the system.

Sherrice had been in the video arcade in the casino at the Nevada-California border during the early morning hours of Memorial Day while her father was gambling.

Moments after she went to the restroom, she was followed inside by a man who raped and then killed her.

In addition to giving statements to police, investigators said Strohmeyer also told friends of the incident.