Jury debates trial in Arizona bookmaker’s slaying

Bill Gang

Friday, Oct. 24, 1997 | 9:58 a.m.

The murder trial over the baseball bat slaying of a burly Arizona illegal bookmaker in June 1996 is more than a whodunnit.

Sure, the jury must decide which of the people who told opposite stories in court about the death of Truman "Charlie" Adams was the actual killer.

But if they decide they can't convict the defendant, 47-year-old Michael Velas, they must decide what role he did play and what crimes he committed.

The jury in District Judge Joseph Bonaventure's courtroom continued deliberations today after being unable to reach a decision in four hours of deliberations Thursday.

Velas, the manager of a sleazy motel near the Stratosphere Tower, admitted helping clean up after the slaying, but named Adams' wife as the bat-wielding killer of the 57-year-old bearded bookie who had won $90,000 on the NBA playoffs.

Deputy District Attorney Lisa Luzaich scoffed at the story and asked, "Who do you think killed Charlie, a 120-pound crack whore or a 279-pound ex-Marine?"

The wife, Julie Renner-Adams, an admitted cocaine addict and prostitute, told the jury that Velas was the one who killed the man she had married just five days before.

Renner-Adams admitted helping haul the body to an isolated spot north of Las Vegas two days later, where it was doused with gasoline and set ablaze.

She also admitted taking a third of the $90,000, which she and Velas' wife, Sharon, retrieved from Adams' home in Yuma, Ariz.

In a plea bargain, Renner-Adams pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and grand larceny and agreed to testify against Velas.

"The perception of the hooker with a heart of gold just doesn't exist," defense attorney Randall Pike told the jury during closing arguments.

He said that Adams had married her with the understanding that she would stop using drugs and stop working the streets, but she could stop neither and knew Adams and his winnings wouldn't stay around long.

"She snapped," Pike said, arguing that she was the only one with a reason to kill.

"I've given you 90,000 reasons," Luzaich countered.

Arguing that the evidence wasn't sufficient to convict Velas of murder, Pike asked the jury, "Would you make your decision based on Julie's word? Would you even get in a car with Julie?"

"Don't be another of her tricks," he cautioned.

Pike told the jury to convict Velas "for the mistakes he made" but not for the murder.

But the prosecutor said, "The mistake Velas made was picking up a bat and beating Charlie until he shattered his skull."