Man accused in girl’s death faces Las Vegas hearing

Thursday, June 26, 1997 | 11:48 a.m.

Clark County prosecutors say they plan a preliminary hearing for 18-year-old Jeremy Strohmeyer instead of pursuing a grand jury indictment.

Strohmeyer is charged with murder, sexual assault and kidnapping in the May 25 killing of Sherrice Iverson at the Primm Valley hotel on the Nevada-California border, southwest of Las Vegas.

Strohmeyer, of Long Beach, is being held in a Los Angeles jail while awaiting extradition to Las Vegas. Police say he has been the target of death threats.

Goodsprings Justice of the Peace Janet Smith will preside over the preliminary hearing. The hearing will likely be held in Las Vegas Justice Court, rather than Smith's small courtroom in tiny Jean, Nev., the closest town to the scene of the crime.

"I have every reason to believe she will hold the preliminary hearing here in Las Vegas Township," Assistant District Attorney J. Charles Thompson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "The (Justice Court) administrator has advised me that is her (Smith's) intention."

After listening to testimony at the preliminary hearing, Smith will decide whether prosecutors have sufficient evidence to take the case to trial.

The advantage of a preliminary hearing is that if a witness were to be unavailable for a trial, that person's testimony at the preliminary hearing could later be entered as evidence at trial. Preliminary hearings are public, while grand jury proceedings are private.

"When you have lay witnesses, particularly ones that reside out of state and young friends of school age, it is always a concern that they may not be available," Thompson said. "We have no indications that they won't be available (at trial), but in an abundance of caution, we are looking at the preliminary hearing."

The scheduling of the preliminary hearing will depend in large part on when the extradition process for Strohmeyer is complete, Thompson said. The extradition is not expected to take place until July at the earliest.

Sherrice was found slain in a women's restroom stall at the Primm hotel.

Strohmeyer was identified as a suspect in the case after police released surveillance tapes from the hotel. The tapes, which were publicized nationally, showed a young man following Iverson into the restroom.

Police said Strohmeyer, a former high school honor student, has confessed to sexually assaulting Sherrice, snapping her neck and asphyxiating the girl.

By moving the preliminary hearing to Las Vegas, Judge Smith would avoid a media invasion of her small courtroom in Jean. Also, it is likely the move would make it easier for Clark County Detention Center employees and police to provide adequate security for Strohmeyer.