Guilty plea entered in LV killing

Bill Gang

Friday, July 9, 1999 | 10:18 a.m.

The man charged with robbing and murdering a 64-year-old man in a remote desert area has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, but the plea bargain doesn't solve the big question in the slaying.

Esteban Hernandez, 20, pleaded guilty as his Monday trial date approached. He admitted he was present during the robbery but said he wasn't the one who wielded the knife that killed Sam Paterniti.

Hernandez indicated that 17-year-old Tony Guerrero was the one who stabbed Paterniti 21 times on June 23, 1998.

Guerrero, however, avoided murder charges by pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and accessory to murder in a deal that required him to testify against Hernandez, according to defense attorney Michael Cristalli.

Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane said the plea bargain with Guerrero provided for probation if he gave an accurate account of the slaying -- something that he said would have to be evaluated in light of Hernandez's statements.

"There were only two people there and who knows who is going to tell us the whole truth," Kane said.

While Hernandez denied stabbing Paterniti, he conceded that Nevada law makes him guilty of first-degree murder for his participation in a robbery where a death occurs.

In Thursday's plea bargain, Hernandez agreed to accept a life prison sentence with no parole until he has served at least 40 years.

The family of the victim already has filed a lawsuit against Hernandez, Guerrero and his mother and the store where the man was kidnapped.

The wife and three children of the victim alleged that Guerrero's mother, Yolanda Guerrero, took no measures to control or supervise her son.

Also named in the lawsuit is the PriceRite Grocery Warehouse at 1941 N. Decatur Blvd., where the abduction occurred.