Prosecutors will seek death penalty

Bill Gang

Friday, Jan. 21, 2000 | 10:58 a.m.

Prosecutors have announced they will seek the death penalty for 20-year-old Ronald Calvin if he is convicted of first-degree murder in the slayings of two Las Vegas women, including his 72-year-old grandmother.

Calvin pleaded not guilty Thursday and District Judge Jeff Sobel set an Oct. 24 trial date.

Calvin is alleged to have killed Diane L. Paynes, 58, and Evangeline C. Lee, 72, whose bodies were found March 23 in the Las Vegas apartment they shared with Calvin. Both victims, who had not been seen for three days before their bodies were found, died of multiple stab wounds.

Calvin was returned to Las Vegas following his arrest March 26 at a Fresno, Calif., hospital, where he was being treated for a knife cut on his hand. Earlier that day, his grandmother's car was recovered from a Fresno residential area.

Metro Police actually stopped Calvin the night before the bodies were found on a routine stop. Police were concerned because of fresh blood on his hands and scratches on his face.

Officers ran a computer check on the 1989 Chevrolet and learned it was owned by Calvin's grandmother, but the address in the computer was not current and he was released because there was no direct evidence of a crime.

Psychiatrists have determined that Calvin is capable of understanding the charges against him and aiding his defense attorney in the case.