Teen says he killed dad to protect sister

Bill Gang

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2000 | 11:15 a.m.

Fifteen-year-old Conan Pope told police after his arrest that he shot his father to death to protect his sister, according to court documents filed in Justice Court.

Pope is charged with murder in the Jan. 6 incident during what the defendant and his sister said was a tirade over dirty dishes by 62-year-old Frank Pope when he arrived home about 6 p.m.

A Feb. 9 preliminary hearing has been set for Conan Pope in Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo's courtroom to determine if sufficient evidence exists to hold the teenager for trial on the charges that could put him in prison for life.

Although just 15, Pope, a freshman at Silverado High School, must face charges as an adult under a Nevada law that automatically certifies as an adult any juvenile charged with murder or attempted murder.

His age, however, precludes prosecutors from seeking the death penalty.

The teenager's sister, 16-year-old Desiree Pope, called 911 after the shooting and later gave a statement to police telling how her father became enraged when he arrived home to find the dishes unwashed.

She said he began throwing and smashing the dishes and ordered the children to their rooms "as he continued his tirade," the police report says.

In a statement Conan Pope gave after his arrest at a friend's house, he said he opened his door to see his father with a broom in his hand walking toward his sister's room.

"He said he retrieved his Winchester .357-caliber lever-action rifle and confronted his father," the police arrest report stated. "Conan said he yelled, 'No!' and fired one round at his father from a distance of approximately 6 to 8 feet."

Frank Pope fell to the floor and Conan Pope told police he fired one more round before fleeing the house.

"Conan said he feared for the sister's safety and he fired at his father to protect her," the report stated. "He said he had thrown the rifle in the desert as he ran to the friend's residence."

Desiree Pope told police that as she sat in her room she heard her brother's bedroom door open and heard what she recognized as a gun being cocked.

"She immediately heard a shot and her brother say words to the effect, 'Now, die you f--' and she then heard an additional shot," the police arrest report continued.

The girl said she opened her door and saw her father on the kitchen floor face down and her brother running from the home at 163 Muddy Creek Ave., off Serene Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South.

When police arrived they found the victim lying on a blue broom amid broken dishes and glass fragments. A spent rifle cartridge was lying nearby.

Moments later, Ellene Overton telephoned the Pope house and told Desiree Pope that the defendant had come to her house and said he had shot his father, the report stated.

Police went to the home and arrested the teenager without incident.

The boy's rifle was later recovered from a desert area near the house.

Although Deputy Special Public Defender Kristine Wildeveld has requested that the defendant be released on house arrest rather than awaiting his court appearances in the Clark County Detention Center, Abbatangelo reserved his decision until the preliminary hearing.

Before starting high school this school year, Pope attended Cannon Middle School for a short time and then Silvestri Middle School before being enrolled in Biltmore Opportunity School -- an alternative school for students with behavior problems, according to Clark County School District records.

School officials said records detailing Pope's behavioral problems are confidential.