Man who had sex with teen murder defendant sentenced to prison

Kim Smith

Tuesday, April 25, 2000 | 10:53 a.m.

Less than one month after "swearing to God" that he wouldn't mess up, a Las Vegas prostitute accused of engaging in a sex act with a teenage murder defendant had his probation revoked Monday.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure sentenced Reginald Fox to 2 1/2 years in prison Monday after Fox admitted he possessed drug paraphernalia.

Fox, 26, is eligible for parole after one year.

Bonaventure had placed Fox on three years' probation March 27 after Fox admitted he had sex with Conan Pope while locked up in the Clark County Detention Center. Three days later Fox was back behind bars on a drug parapheralia charge.

At the time Bonaventure said he didn't expect Fox to be able to successfully complete probation, noting Fox's long string of misdemeanor prostitution and drug-related arrests.

Fox repeatedly thanked Bonaventure for giving him a second chance, swearing he "wouldn't mess up."

"Thank you. I swear to God, I won't let you down," Fox said.

Had Fox not admitted to violating his probation and had the state been able to prove he did violate it, Bonaventure could have given Fox four years in prison. After Fox admitted the violation, he and the attorneys for both sides agreed to a prison term of between 12 and 30 months.

Pope, 15, is accused of shooting his father to death Jan. 6. Under state law, any child accused of attempted murder or murder is automatically transferred into adult court and at the time of his arrest, he was placed in general population at the jail.

Thanks to the efforts of his attorneys, who claim that he was victimized by Fox, Pope is now being housed alone in a cell. He is only allowed access to a dayroom and television when other inmates are on lock-down status.

Kim Smith covers courts for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2321 or by e-mail at kimberly@lasvegassun.com.