Man gets death penalty for murder of Elko man

Sunday, April 30, 2000 | 12:40 p.m.

An Elko District Court jury deliberated more than six hours before deciding the fate late Friday night of Kelly Rhyne, 40.

Rhyne, who frequently interrupted his trial with profanity-laced outbursts, had no visible reaction when the sentence was read.

The same jury last month found Rhyne guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Donald "Lobo" Brown, whose body was found in a trash bin behind the Miner's Camp Bar here.

Elko District Judge Mike Memeo set the execution date for the week of July 3, but an automatic appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court will delay it.

"It's justice, not yet but enough for now," Richard Brown, the victim's brother, told the Elko Daily Free Press.

Rhyne on several occasions taunted the victims' family members with slurs of being "trailer-park trash."

He also disrupted proceedings with grunts of disapproval, exaggerated gestures and intimidating stares.

Memeo threatened at one point to have Rhyne's mouth and hands duct-taped, but ended up ordering him to watch the proceedings on television outside the presence of the jury.

Experts testified that Brown died from at least 10 to 18 kicks he received to the head. The blows resulted in three skull fractures.

Defense lawyers claimed that accomplice James Mendenhall administered the beating and coerced Rhyne into helping him dispose of the body.

But prosecutors said Rhyne was a cold and calculating killer who knew what he was doing with every kick of the foot to Brown's head.

Mendenhall earlier pleaded no contest to second-degree murder.