Convicted killer loses appeal

Thursday, June 14, 2001 | 9:40 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Anthony L. Bagley, serving two consecutive life terms with the possibility of parole for the fatal shooting of a Las Vegas man in an apparent argument over money, has lost his appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.

The court rejected claims Tuesday from defense lawyers that District Judge Joseph Bonaventure improperly allowed evidence at the trial that Bagley had a gun in his car and was looking for the victim about two weeks prior to the killing.

Bagley claimed he accidentally shot Curtis Henry after they argued over money allegedly owed by Henry. He testified Henry was agitated and was acting in a threatening manner.

Bagley said he pulled the gun and it accidentally discharged, hitting Henry in the chest in the April 1998 incident. Defense lawyers said the evidence under dispute was irrelevant because the shooting was accidental.

The court said evidence was "relevant to motive, because it is supported the state's theory of the case that the decedent owed a debt to appellant (Bagley) and that appellant was trying to contact the decedent in order to collect the debt."

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