Court briefs for January 8, 2001

Monday, Jan. 8, 2001 | 10:34 a.m.

Husband will remain in jail

A 52-year-old man suspected of shooting and stabbing his wife to death two days before Christmas will remain in the Clark County Detention Center without bond.

Vitaly Zakouto's defense attorney, Bill Terry, told Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman this morning that he has decided not to ask for bond in light of the fact the Immigration and Naturalization Service has placed a hold on his client.

Zakouto's wife, Marina Cannon, 49, was found dead in her father's house Dec. 23. According to police, she had moved there to escape a relationship so violent she had changed her will to invite the media to her funeral in the hopes of educating the public about domestic violence.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane said the U.S. attorney's office and the INS may bring charges against Zakouto for apparently lying about his criminal past on citizenship documents.

Zakouto is believed to have come to the U.S. from Israel between eight and 10 years ago.

Man, 70, pleads guilty in accident

A 70-year-old man pleaded guilty Friday in connection with a drunken driving accident that killed a 29-year-old Las Vegas man.

As a result of the plea agreement, Jessie James Mathis will get two to five years in prison when he is sentenced by District Judge Donald Mosley on Feb. 20.

According to police, Mathis was driving on State Route 160 between Las Vegas and Pahrump when he pulled off to the right shoulder of the road. He then suddenly made a U-turn, causing Lee A. McDonald, who was following him, to swerve and strike a vehicle that was heading in the opposite direction.

Time added to rapist's sentence

A 20-year-old Las Vegas man already serving six life terms for sexually assaulting an 85-year-old woman was sentenced to another six years in prison Friday.

Larry Brooks pleaded guilty Friday to punching a corrections officer in the face. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed two counts of solicitation to commit murder.

The six-year prison sentence will be served at the same time as the life sentences, for which he will become eligible for parole in 55 years.

The plea agreement was worked out after prosecutors discovered a tape-recorded conversation between Brooks and a confidential informant had been lost.

According to transcripts from the recording, Brooks wanted the prosecutor on the rape case, Teresa Lowry, killed before his trial, because she wasn't as "laid back" as other prosecutors and was "trying to kill me."

Brooks also wanted the rape victim killed, according to the transcripts.

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