Man to go on trial for murder

Kim Smith

Friday, Nov. 23, 2001 | 9:46 a.m.

The last time Robin McGinness was in a Clark County Courthouse, he was sentenced to four years in prison for using a missing man's credit cards to buy tools and a hat.

When McGinness walks into a courtroom on Monday, he will face a murder charge accusing him of killing Henry Doepke: the man who owned the credit cards.

If convicted, McGinness could be sentenced to life in prison with or without the possibility of parole.

According to court records, Doepke was last seen leaving his apartment in the early morning hours of March 21, 1999.

Police found his truck parked at a bar a couple of weeks later, and McGinness quickly became their prime suspect. Detectives found a notebook inside Doepke's car with McGinness' Budget Suites' room number scrawled inside, according to court documents.

When they conducted a search of McGinness' room, they found scraps of paper, two guns, flex ties, gloves and duct tape. When crime-scene analysts put the scraps of paper together, they found references to "securing" someone and Mesquite.

McGinness denied having anything to with Doepke's disappearance, but admitted using his credit cards after finding Doepke's wallet on his couch, according to court documents.

McGinness also admitted he owed Doepke $1,500.

Because police had no body, prosecutors moved forward on credit card-related charges.

McGinness pleaded guilty to fraudulent use of a credit card and possession of stolen property. He was sentenced in October 1999 to 14 to 48 months in prison.

One month later portions of a skeleton, along with a pair of dentures and prescription glasses, were found near Mesquite off of Interstate 15.

The remains were identified as Doepke's weeks later. An autopsy revealed Doepke had been shot once in the head with a .40-caliber weapon and had suffered a facial fracture after being struck in the face.

A further investigation revealed that the likely murder weapon -- a Heckler and Koch .40-caliber handgun -- had been stolen from one of McGinness' roommates.

On June 15, 2000 -- the day McGinness was paroled from the Nevada Department of Prisons -- he was booked into the Clark County Detention Center to await trial in Doepke's death.

District Judge Kathy Hardcastle will preside over the trial.