LV man denies ordering cohort to shoot sister

Keith Paul

Friday, Nov. 16, 2001 | 8:45 a.m.

A Las Vegas man admitted to police that he kidnapped his estranged wife, but he denied ordering a cohort to shoot her sister in what appears to be a hastily planned abduction.

Pablo Guerrero, 23, is being held in the San Bernardino County, Calif., jail. He has not waived extradition to Las Vegas and apparently will not return willingly. His accused accomplice, Eriberto Leon, is scheduled to be arraigned this morning in Las Vegas Justice Court.

"We'll do the process and bring him back," said Abby Silver, a chief assistant Clark County district attorney. "They will hold him. He faces multiple life sentences here."

Guerrero's public defender in California could not be reached for comment this morning.

A receipt from Wal-Mart for gloves, rope, a flashlight and glow sticks was found in the van used in the abduction and was dated the same day as the kidnapping and just a few hours before Guerrero went to see his wife, according to a Metro Police report.

The time on the receipt was 4:14 a.m. Nov. 6. Guerrero went to see his wife at 9 a.m. that same morning after she told him she didn't want to get back together and wanted a divorce.

"He admitted that his intention was to take Brenda with him, even if she didn't want to do," according to the police report. "He admitted that he was taking (his wife) to Tijuana or San Diego."

Guerrero is accused of kidnapping his wife, Brenda Guerrero, and ordering his accused accomplice, Leon, 16, to shoot Brenda Guerrero's 17-year-old sister, Sonia Gallardo, on Nov. 6.

Guerrero fled in a van with his wife, and was caught after the California Highway Patrol spotted him on Interstate 15 near Victorville, Calif. He was eventually taken into custody after Brenda Guerrero grabbed his gun and threw it out the window. Leon fled in another car and was later arrested Nov. 6 in Las Vegas.

San Bernardino prosecutors are moving forward with kidnapping charges filed in California against Guerrero. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Victorville, said Michelle Lauron, a San Bernardino assistant district attorney.

"If he's not willing to go back, we are ready to go forward with the case," she said.

Brenda Guerrero told the Sun two days after her day-long ordeal that her husband came to her parents' house, where she had been staying since they separated six months ago.

Guerrero had been very nice to his estranged wife for about a month, apparently trying to win her back. But once in the house about 9 a.m., Brenda Guerrero said he started waving a copy of her cellular phone bill, demanding to know who she had been talking to.

"He was always very jealous," she said. "He hit me in the face. I ran to the phone, but he grabbed the phone and broke it. He said he had a surprise for me at 10 o'clock."

That's when Leon is accused of entering the house with a gun.

Leon admitted to police he knew Guerrero was going to the house with a gun to take his estranged wife to Mexico.

Leon told police he was "told by Pablo to go upstairs and shoot Sonia. That he went upstairs and Sonia tried to hit him and the gun went off,"according to a Metro Police report.

Sonia Gallardo disputed that the shooting was an accident, telling police a blue blanket was held over her face and "she heard a pop and felt the pain on her nose," according to the report.

She had been shot in the bridge of the nose. She jumped out of the window and went next door, where a neighbor called police. Gallardo was taken to University Medical Center, where she was treated for several days and released.

Leon fled the house in a car as Guerrero took his wife in the van.

Guerrero didn't admit to police that he told Leon to shoot Gallardo, according to the police report.

Brenda Guerrero said her husband told her he was going to kill her, and then kill himself.

"I was so scared. I thought I was going to die," Brenda Guerrero said. "He kept saying he was going to kill me."

Guerrero and Leon are charged in Clark County with kidnapping, conspiracy, attempted murder, battery and other crimes.