Court briefs for March 8, 2001

Thursday, March 8, 2001 | 11:01 a.m.

A 20-year-old Las Vegas man who twice tried to back out of plea agreements with prosecutors was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with parole possible after 10 years.

Although he did not admit his guilt, Lamar Alexander agreed in March that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him in the June 1996 death of Terry Dixon, the 45-year-old father of his friend, Sean Dixon.

According to police, Alexander, Jeremy Kelly and Sean Dixon went to Terry Dixon's Nellis Boulevard apartment to steal his truck and ended up shooting him to death.

Sean Dixon, who was 16 at the time, and Kelly each got life terms with parole possible after 40 years.

New penalty phase scheduled

The new penalty phase for a Las Vegas man put on death row in January has been scheduled for July 24.

John Edward Butler was convicted in December of killing Lin Newborn, 25, and Daniel Shersty, 20, with the aid of accomplices who have not yet been charged.

Jurors sentenced Butler to death, but District Judge Michael Douglas granted Butler, a self-proclaimed Nazi skinhead, a new penalty phase after he learned prosecutors withheld information that might have helped the defense.

Prosecutors alleged Butler had the two men lured out to the desert and killed them because they were involved in an anti-racist skinhead movement.