Ex-cop, claiming innocence, sentenced to life in prison

Pauline Bell

Friday, July 25, 1997 | 1:20 a.m.

Former Metro Police Officer Ron Mortensen continued today to maintain his innocence, saying his former friend and partner Christopher Brady was the shooter of 21-year-old Daniel Mendoza.

"Ron Mortensen did not murder Daniel Mendoza, but I'm truly sorry for his family," the 31-year-old former patrolman said during his sentencing today in the courtroom of District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski. The former patrolman also apologized to his family for the ordeal.

Mortensen contended he was a scapegoat for "years of misconduct" by Metro and he was selected as the person who would pay for the misbehavior.

Pavlikowski declined to make a statement before he formally imposed the sentence: life in prison without the possibility of parole. By law, the sentence doubles because the jury found that the murder was committed with a deadly weapon.

The veteran judge ordered Mortensen incarcerated in the Nevada State Prison. Defense attorney Frank Cremen later said it would be up to prison officials if Mortensen is transferred out of state for safety reasons.

Cremen made no statement on his client's behalf during the proceeding, but later said the case will be appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court. Nobody from Mendoza's family addressed the court.

A jury in May convicted Mortensen of first-degree murder in the slaying of the young Hispanic man during a drunken shooting spree last December.

Panelists later meted out the harshest possible penalty in the case, following the wishes of prosecutors Bill Koot and Gary Guymon, who urged them to deliver the message that law enforcement officers are entrusted to act responsibly and must not be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

Earlier in the sentencing, Pavlikowski denied Cremen's motion for a new trial. The defense attorney claimed the jury's verdict might have been different had it been allowed to hear testimony that would have called into question the credibility of Brady, a key state witness. The judge found no basis for the motion.

Thirty-six hours after the shooting, Brady came forward and reported Mortensen's involvement to police, saying the two had been drinking and "harassing dopers and bangers" the night Mortensen pulled his gun and fired the fatal shot in a high-crime area about a mile east of the Las Vegas Strip.

During the trial, Mortensen and Brady, who have both resigned from the force, pointed the finger of guilt at each other. Cremen portrayed the case as a credibility contest between the two with Brady emerging as the most believable.

In a twist after the verdict, a young woman named Carye Morris came forward and claimed that Brady forced her to commit a sex act during a traffic stop. When she asked why, Brady reportedly answered, "I am evil."

In taking the witness stand in his own defense, Mortensen contended Brady fired shots out the truck window and then explained his actions by saying "I am evil."

Cremen, who said he didn't know about Morris at the time of the trial, argued he would have liked to put Morris on the stand to question Brady's credibility and bolster Mortensen's.

The district attorney's office investigated Morris's allegations but declined to prosecute. Officials said lie detectors tests administered to Morris showed a tendency toward deception, that her stories have varied from telling to telling, and that she acknowledged a portion of her tale was fabricated.

Mendoza was struck in the heart by one .380-caliber bullet as he stood with a group of friends outside 537 McKellar Circle, near Paradise and Flamingo roads, Dec. 28. Mortensen and Brady, according to trial testimony, had attended Mortensen's 31st birthday celebration in the hours before the shooting occurred.

Brady, 25, a six-year Metro veteran whose detective father has been on the force for 27 years, was never charged with any crimes in connection with his role in the case.

Mortensen