Prosecutors downplay kidnapping question

Friday, May 12, 2000 | 11:22 a.m.

Jurors in the Ted Binion murder trial entered their third day of deliberations today following nearly 12 hours of work Thursday.

The nine women and three men are deciding the fate of Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish, who are charged with killing Binion Sept. 17, 1998, and stealing his valuables.

On Thursday the jurors returned to court about 1:30 p.m. to formally ask District Judge Joseph Bonaventure a question about several counts relating to the alleged July 28, 1998, scheme to torture businessman Leo Casey. Tabish, not Murphy, is charged in that plot.

The jurors had sent Bonaventure a note that read: "If a person(s) have been found guilty of 'false imprisonment' and guilty of 'extortion,' does that elevate the charge to 'kidnapping?' "

Bonaventure told the jurors he had discussed their question with prosecutors and defense lawyers in chambers. He said the answer to their question was "no."

Some courthouse observers, including Tabish's attorneys, speculated that the question indicates the jurors were inclined to reach a guilty verdict against Tabish on a charge lesser than kidnapping.

Tabish faces six felony counts relating to the Casey incident, including kidnapping with the use of a deadly weapon, assault with the use of a deadly weapon and extortion with the use of a deadly weapon. The kidnapping charge carries a life prison sentence.

Casey, who defense lawyers accused of being an embezzler and perjurer, testified during the trial that two months before Binion's death Tabish beat him over the head with a phone book and threatened to kill him unless he turned over his interests in a Jean sand pit to him.

Prosecutors alleged Tabish killed Binion to gain access to his wealth to keep the struggling sand pit open.

District Attorney Stewart Bell said today it would be unwise to read anything substantive involving the charges into the jury's question.

"I think it shows that they're being conscientious and that they have worked through some of the problems, and when they came to an issue where they needed advice, they asked the judge," Bell said.

"I think it also seems to indicate that we have a group that can work together and that we may be able to expect a verdict one way or the other."

Bell and other courthouse observers declined to speculate on what the question means in terms of the progress of the jury's deliberations on the murder charges facing Tabish and Murphy.

Prosecutors have accused the two lovers of pumping Binion with drugs and suffocating him at his 2408 Palomino Lane home.

The two defendants also are charged with looting the wealthy gambling figure's Las Vegas home and trying to steal his $6 million silver fortune from an underground vault in Pahrump after his death.

The jurors plan to deliberate from 9 a.m. until 8:15 p.m. until they reach a verdict. They are not being sequestered, which means they can return to their homes at night.

Bonaventure has given the panel members the Mother's Day weekend off if they fail to reach a verdict by the end of the day.

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. He can be reached at (702)259-4067 or by e-mail at german@lasvegassun.com