Videotape testimony approved

Bill Gang

Friday, Oct. 22, 1999 | 11:52 a.m.

A videotaped deposition from an elusive witness in a quadruple homicide has been authorized, but it will be days before she has a chance to get out of jail, where she has spent the last month as a material witness.

District Judge Jeff Sobel ordered the deposition be taken Tuesday from Charla Severs, who was Donte Johnson's girlfriend at the time he is alleged to have perpetrated a robbery that ended with four young men being killed execution-style in a southeast Las Vegas.

Johnson is facing a Jan. 10 trial on charges he was the triggerman who fired bullets into the heads of the four duct-taped victims in August 1998 and Severs is considered by prosecutors to be a key witness.

Severs has given statements that she was present when the robbery plot was hatched and named Johnson, 19, as one of those involved.

But she disappeared early this year -- allegedly because of threats to her life if she testifies -- and it wasn't until last month that she surfaced.

The videotaped sworn statement from Severs will preserve her testimony to be shown to the jury at Johnson's trial, even if she disappears again.

Although Severs has agreed to give a deposition -- because it would permit her release from jail and provide her with a measure of security -- her attorney, Chip Siegel, wanted assurances she was not going to face criminal charges herself.

Prosecutors have publicly said she is not a suspect and there is no expectation that charges could be filed.

Sobel doesn't want that to happen and he said he wants some controls in place before he orders her release from jail so "she won't be like a bird."

The judge said it is in the interest of both sides to have Severs present to testify at Johnson's trial rather than use a videotape.

Deputy District Attorney Gary Guymon has stated in court documents that Severs admitted that she fled Nevada after being threatened by a man with a violent past who was connected to Johnson.

The videotaped deposition not only records her story, but it could help ensure her safety.