Mortensen sentence: Life without parole

Pauline Bell

Thursday, May 15, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

As a police officer, Ron Mortensen sent crooks to prison.

Now a District Court jury says the former Metro patrolman must spend the rest of his life behind bars without an opportunity for parole.

The same District Court jury that earlier convicted the 31-year-old UNLV graduate of first-degree murder in the drive-by shooting death of Daniel Mendoza, 21, deliberated about two hours Thursday afternoon before deciding his sentence.

Mortensen showed no emotion, staring straight ahead and slightly down at the defense table, as the sentencing verdict was read by the jury foreman.

Earlier, Mortensen brushed away tears as members of his family asked the jury for leniency.

"He's not the person you think he is," Mortensen's 35-year-old brother, Jimmy, sobbed on the witness stand as he described his younger brother as a decent guy and loving person who was the primary caretaker for their 80-year-old grandmother until his arrest.

District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski set a July 17 sentencing date. Mortensen's life sentence will be doubled in accordance with Nevada law because the jury found that the crime was committed with a deadly weapon. He is being held in the Clark County Detention Center pending sentencing.

Jurors declined to speak to the news media following the hearing. Many gazed down at the courtroom floor as the verdict was read.

A tearful Ramon Mendoza, father of the victim, said he was "grateful" for the jury's decision.

Mortensen's family offered emotional testimony during the 75-minute penalty hearing, but did not appear to hear the sentencing verdict read.

An appeal is expected. Defense Attorney Frank Cremen maintains he was prohibited from presenting evidence that would have cast doubt on the testimony of one of the state's main witnesses, Christopher Brady.

Brady, 25, came forward following the shooting and named Mortensen as the shooter. The defense that Brady was the shooter and turned on Mortensen to save himself. The state countered that five of the state's witnesses identified Mortensen as the shooter.

During the testimony portion of the hearing, Jimmy Mortensen was asked if he was seeking leniency for his brother. He replied, "Please. I don't want to see him in jail for the rest of his life."

But prosecutors Bill Koot and Gary Guymon said that's exactly what Ron Mortensen deserved for his actions.

Mortensen was a police officer who was entrusted with a badge and gun after he took an oath to serve and protect members of the community. That same officer then went to 537 McKellar Circle following a birthday party last Dec. 28, laughingly summoned a group of people to his vehicle and emptied his gun into the crowd, hitting and killing Mendoza, Guymon said.

Koot pointed out that if the roles were reversed and Mendoza, a reputed gang member, had killed Mortensen in a drive-by shooting, Mendoza would have been eligible for the death penalty. Since the same penalty was not available in this case, Koot urged the strictest sentence possible, life without parole.

Guymon urged the panel to give Mortensen "a sentence that gives meaning to the life that was taken."

"Mercy cannot rob justice," the prosecutor repeated several times, concluding that it would be appropriate for Mortensen to spend the remainder of his life in prison.

"Give him a chance, give him hope," defense attorney Frank Cremen urged jurors. He said Mortensen's sentence should be judged on the whole of his life rather than one isolated act.

"This is a man who by all accounts tried to make something of himself," Cremen said, noting that Mortensen served in the U.S. Army and Nevada National Guard, graduated from college and got a job as a policeman.

The defense attorney called the shooting an abhorrent act and said there was nothing in Mortensen's background that would have suggested that he might commit such a crime.

The jury could have sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole, but Mortensen wouldn't have been eligible to apply for parole for 40 years.

The wife of the former police officer cried during most of her testimony, describing her husband as "an officer and a gentleman, a complete gentleman."

Zoe Mortensen said of her husband, "He's a good man just like my father. He's the nicest guy." She continued to maintain that he was framed and called it "an atrocity."

Her father also addressed the jury and asked for leniency for his son-in-law saying, "I've got a 2-year-old granddaughter that needs a father."

Ramon Mendoza, speaking through a court interpreter, said his son always wanted to get married, have children and finish high school.

"We're pretty much destroyed," Mendoza said in describing his family's reaction to the killing. "We didn't know what destiny had set for us."