3 convicted of murdering Reno cabdriver for $89

Sunday, March 21, 1999 | 9:19 a.m.

A Washoe District Court jury deliberated three hours Friday before convicting the three of first-degree murder and robbery in the October 1997 shooting of John Castro, a 49-year-old father of two.

Weston Edward Sirex, 24, of Reno, and Latisha Marie Babb, 19, and Shawn Russell Harte, 20, both of Fallon, now await penalty hearings Monday.

Prosecutors earlier said they would seek the death penalty if the three were convicted.

Castro was shot in the head and left to die after driving Sirex and Harte from southeast Reno to an isolated road in Cold Springs north of Reno.

Babb, who drove the getaway vehicle, listened to the conversation inside the Reno-Sparks Cab Co. taxi with the help of a radio transmitter.

After the shooting, the three went to a fast-food restaurant and then to Circus Circus Hotel & Casino in Reno, where they played carnival games, prosecutors said.

Washoe County sheriff's detective Larry Canfield said Harte admitted shooting Castro, saying "it was as easy as taking out the trash."

Prosecutors said Castro had only $89 on him at the time. The three told authorities that they were short on cash and originally planned to rob a convenience store or motel.