Robbery, assault victim tells how masked gunmen invaded her home

Thursday, Feb. 18, 1999 | 11:52 a.m.

An ex-convict who was arrested after running a red light and nearly colliding with a Metro Police car is facing charges from a brazen home break-in and kidnapping that police apparently interrupted.

If 24-year-old Allan Altergott is convicted of all charges he faces this week at his District Court trial, he could face 10 life prison sentences and not be eligible for parole until he has served 60 years.

The defendant sat stoically in court Wednesday as he listened to the evidence pile up against him. He was dressed in a blue denim shirt that hid the tattoos covering his arms, but it could not hide the "Sue" tattoo across the back of his neck.

The victim, a petite 25-year-old Las Vegas woman, recalled for a jury how she was bathing her two children when three masked and armed bandits burst into their home demanding cash.

Deputy District Attorney Frank Coumou characterized the armed invasion as a "truely random crime."

While the trio searched and destroyed the interior of the home near Charleston and Nellis boulevards, the woman testified, the children and their grandmother huddled in terror in a bedroom.

When no money was found, the bandits demanded her jewelry, and while she turned over a ring and necklace, a bracelet would not unlatch.

In a fit of anger, the man she identified as Altergott ripped off her clothes and sexually assaulted her, the victim stated, recalling that she had vainly called to her mother for help.

The young woman's mother sobbed on the witness stand Wednesday as she testified about watching the sexual assault of her daughter. The older woman explained that terror and concern for the safety of her grandchildren, ages 2 and 3, prevented her from trying to intercede.

The victim said that Altergott's frustration over the bracelet then prompted him to put his .45-caliber pistol against her wrist and threaten to sever her hand with a shot if the jewelry were not removed.

The woman told the jury in Chief District Judge Lee Gates' courtroom how she pleaded with the bandit and promised she could get money from relatives if she were allowed to telephone them.

But the telephone lines in the home on Utah Avenue had been severed when the robbers first burst in about 10 p.m. on June 24.

Coumou told the jury during his opening statement that the decision was made to take the victim in her car to telephone booths where arrangements could be made.

Coumou characterized Altergott as the "ringleader" of the group that "destroyed the house looking for money," but noted the other two bandits chose not to go along in the car out of fear they would be captured. They fled the home on foot.

The victim testified that when they got into her car, Altergott took off his ski mask, letting her see his face for the first time.

She said she made calls to her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, but no final arrangements were made to deliver the cash the robber wanted because of the traffic incident and Altergott's arrest.

Coumou said the relatives had called police in a futile attempt to help track down the car and save the woman, but fate intervened before authorities could.

Metro Officer Keith Parenteau told how his patrol car was almost struck by the victim's vehicle as it ran through a red light at Lamb Boulevard and Carey Avenue.

He said that while questioning Altergott, the woman in the seat next to him kept gesturing nervously and finally bolted from the car while yelling to the officer, "He's got a gun. He's got a gun."

The gun, however, had been hidden under the seat along with a ski mask and gloves.

Coumou said Altergott originally told arresting officers that the victim's husband owed him money and that is why he was at the home, but a moment later commented, "I'm screwed," and declined to speak further.