Court briefs for November 14, 2000

Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2000 | 11:17 a.m.

80-year-old man pleads no contest

An 80-year-old man charged with misdemeanor battery in an August attack on gambling figure Bob Stupak pleaded no contest Monday.

Defense attorney Andrew Leavitt said R.D. Matthews pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine to end the case against him.

According to police reports, Stupak, 58, was dining at Piero's when Matthews grabbed Stupak by the arm and said he wanted to talk to him outside.

Stupak said that at the same time, Benny Binion Behnen, son of Horseshoe hotel owner Becky Behnen, and an unnamed man began slapping him in the head and face.

Stupak said he believes the incident stemmed from a dispute over $250,000 in chips he cashed at the Horseshoe more than a year ago.

Matthews was the only person charged in the incident. Prosecutors said he was the only person they had enough evidence to obtain a conviction against because of conflicting statements given to police.

Warrant issued for one suspect

A bench warrant was issued Monday for one of two 18-year-old Mojave High School students accused of kidnapping and torturing Centennial High's mascot.

The warrant was issued after Richard McDonald failed to show up for his initial appearance in Justice Court, Deputy District Attorney Ron Bloxham said.

The two men and nine juveniles were charged on a variety of charges after Blu, an English bulldog, was found injured and staked on the 50-yard line of Centennial's football field on the morning Mojave and Centennial were to play each other.

Authorities believe the dog was stolen and forced to fight a pit bull as part of a prank.

All 11 students are expected to appear in court on Dec. 1.

Victim found in trash bin

Two Las Vegas residents have been indicted on murder charges in connection with the April death of a man whose body was found in a trash bin.

According to the indictment, which was unsealed Monday, Terry Alison Peters and Samuel Ralph Wilson bound, beat, strangled and suffocated Daniel Nichols, 38, to death on April 21.

After Nichols died, the indictment alleges, Peters vacuumed the body, then she, Wilson and another man who was not indicted placed Nichols into a garbage can and took him to a trash bin. Once there, they placed a bag on his head and wrote words on his chest.

According to police, a man walking in the area of 2575 Westwind Road found Nichols' body on April 22.

Wilson was also indicted on a solicitation to commit murder, charged with hiring a man to murder another man on Oct. 30. The intended victim is named as a witness on the indictment, as is the man allegedly hired to kill him.

Indictment set in April slaying

A Las Vegas man has been indicted in the April 25 death of Andre Collins, the son of Gene Collins, the local president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

According to the indictment, which was unsealed Monday, Christopher Michael Berarducci shot Collins in the head while robbing or trying to rob him.

Collins, 31, was found slain in the Green Room, a recording studio in the 800 block of East Sahara Avenue. He had last been seen working on his rap recordings two hours before his body was found.

According to friends, Collins had met Berarducci, a construction worker, while he was working as a carpenter.

Attorney argues against DUI law

An attorney for the young woman accused in the deaths of six teenagers who were picking up trash along Interstate 15 is asking District Judge Mark Gibbons to reconsider his decision to move forward with the case.

Gibbons ruled a few weeks ago that the prohibited-substance law being used against Jessica Williams is constitutional, but defense attorney John Watkins wants to re-argue the issue on Dec. 1.

According to Watkins' motion, he believes Gibbons has "overlooked or misunderstood important rules of law."

Williams was arrested in March after the van she was driving drifted off the road and struck and killed the six. Blood tests indicated she was under the influence of the drug Ecstasy and marijuana.

Watkins claims the law setting standards for driving under the influence of the drugs is unconstitutional.

Also on Dec. 1 Gibbons will be asked to decide if Watkins will be allowed to argue that the county is responsible for the accident because the teens were picking up trash as punishment for minor legal infractions.

Prosecutors believe Williams was clearly at fault, and the issue about the county's role in the children's deaths is irrelevant for the trial.