Court briefs for November 20, 2001

Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2001 | 9:19 a.m.

Parole possible for 17-year-old

A 17-year-old Las Vegas teen was sentenced to life in prison Monday for his role in a fatal robbery.

Taras Bartell Stewart will have to spend at least 10 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole in the death of Henry Zegler.

Authorities allege Lakeisha Smith, 24, Stewart and Frederick Benson, 21, shot Zegler in a dispute over a Ford Mustang and $800 in February 2000.

Zegler, 58, was able to call 911, identify Smith as one of his assailants and provide her address, Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael O'Callaghan said.

Smith pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and is serving a 20-year to life sentence, and Stewart pleaded guilty to second-degree murder shortly thereafter.

Benson, the alleged triggerman, goes on trial Jan. 28.

Man enters plea agreement

A Las Vegas man suspected of beating and kicking his girlfriend to death in June has entered a plea agreement that will guarantee him at least 10 years in prison.

Howard Vincent Brown, 46, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Monday. Brown, who says he was drunk at the time of the incident, will be sentenced by District Judge Kathy Hardcastle Jan. 9.

Hardcastle will have to decide the maximum sentence Brown should receive -- 25 years or life.

Brown admitted he killed his girlfriend, Joanne Williams, on June 18.

Father and son convictions upheld

The Nevada Supreme Court Monday upheld the first-degree murder convictions of a father and a son found guilty of the shooting of another man in connection with an argument over cassette tapes in Las Vegas.

Rudiberto Guerrero, 58, and his son, Alberto Guerrero, 31, were sentenced in January 1998 to life terms with the possibility of parole for the fatal shooting of Manuel Monpie.

The court rejected the appeals from the father and son that there was insufficient evidence to convict them.

Rudiberto and Alberto also complained there were several instances of misconduct due to statements made by the prosecutor. But the court said these statements neither "inflamed and excited the passions of the jury against the accused."