HIV-infected thief avoids jail time

Kim Smith

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

An HIV-infected robbery suspect who promised to be good for one year to escape a jail sentence was given a second chance Wednesday.

But he still faces punishment on a charge of having sex with a 14-year-old boy.

District Judge John McGroarty said he will give Steven Zuckermandel, 32, five years' probation on the robbery charge if he is still doing well at an in-patient drug counseling center in 90 days.

Zuckermandel's attorney, Jennifer Bolton, had asked McGroarty for mercy, pointing out that Zuckermandel was infected with the AIDS virus when he was raped at age 12 and suffers from not only drug addiction but a bipolar disorder and manic depression.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Teresa Lowry and the Department of Parole and Probation recommended prison for Zuckermandel, pointing out an escalation in violence by Zuckermandel.

Zuckermandel pleaded guilty to robbery and battery-domestic violence in February, court records show. Zuckermandel promised McGroarty that he would stay out of trouble and get domestic violence counseling in the hopes that after a year McGroarty would allow him to plead guilty to the less serious offense of attempted larceny.

However, Zuckermandel was caught with cocaine Sept. 2 after police pulled him over for driving erratically near Washington Avenue and Pecos Road. Inside the car was a 14-year-old runaway who told officers he had sex with Zuckermandel without telling him his age.

Zuckermandel was arrested and charged with statutory sexual seduction and possession of a controlled substance, prompting Lowry to ask McGroarty to sentence him to prison on the robbery charge.

Although more than a dozen letters have been written pleading for mercy for Zuckermandel, it's the community that needs mercy now, Lowry said.

Bolton pleaded with McGroarty not to send Zuckermandel to prison, saying that he would still be a drug addict when he got out.

Zuckermandel self-medicated himself with cocaine because of the hardships he has faced in life, but now he knows he can no longer do that, Bolton said.

In addition, had the robbery plea agreement mandated Zuckermandel get help with his addiction, the incident with the boy wouldn't have happened, Bolton said.

After the hearing, Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Herndon, who heads up the special victims unit of the Clark County District Attorney's Office, said he was disappointed with McGroarty's decision.

Because of the terms of the plea agreement in the sex case, Lowry will not be allowed to recommend a sentence when District Judge Donald Mosley sentences Zuckermandel Dec. 29.

Herndon said some cases call out for punishment and not rehabilitation.

Under the plea agreement, Zuckermandel faces one to five years in prison.

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