Trial set for family in military theft case

Friday, Sept. 21, 2001 | 10:54 a.m.

The antique furniture, jewelry and personal mementoes that belonged to the military people who trusted Miles Transfer and Storage with their worldly goods are long gone, and insurance settlements for pennies on the dollar already paid.

Only last week -- three years after a Clark County Grand Jury first indicted Garrett Wayne Miles and five of his family members -- was a trial date set in the felony theft case.

Only now, with the Jan. 29 trial date as some small vindication, does U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Tim Davis think he might see justice.

"I feel I've aged 10 years in the last four years waiting for justice for the theft of all of my worldly goods," said Davis, who lobbied three different deputy district attorneys not to plea bargain the case.

"I not only lost nine containers of all of my furniture and possessions, like the jacket my father wore when he fought at the Battle of the Bulge, but also $14,000 in fees I paid to Miles Storage to protect my property."

Complaints from Davis and Chrystal Sedger, a former Las Vegan now living in England, sparked the investigation that ended in the Miles family members' indictments.

But Davis says he has heard from many more people -- mostly military -- who lost property.

"I get calls from active-duty personnel in Saudi Arabia, Germany, Korea and Hawaii inquiring about things of theirs that were lost," said Davis, 52, who has served with three branches of the service and in the Army Reserve since 1968.

"I am angry that these people were victimized when they were least able to protect their own interests -- while they were on active duty with the U.S. military protecting the interests and freedoms of all Americans."

Irreplaceable mementoes left in the care of Miles Transfer and Storage off Boulder Highway were recovered in local pawn shops, antique stores and in the homes of members of the Miles family after Garrett Miles went bankrupt, according to prosecutors.

Others charged are Miles' wife, Wilma Louise Miles, their children, Garrett Ray Miles, Carrie Lynn Miles and Kimberly Lynn Battiata, and Kimberly's husband, Dwayne Raymond Battiata, all now Florida residents.

They are charged with 17 counts of felony theft, 12 counts of felony possession of stolen property, one count of gross misdemeanor conspiracy to commit theft and one count of gross misdemeanor conspiracy to possess stolen property.

Sedger's losses were compounded last year when, en route to Las Vegas to discuss the case with authorities, her husband, James Harvey Sedger, died of a heart attack while they visited relatives in Oklahoma.

"My husband and I put all of our retirement money into antique furniture that we left with Miles Storage when we left Las Vegas (in 1990) to come here and start a business," Sedger said in a telephone interview from her home in Lincoln, England, just north of London. "We lost $200,000 worth of property.

Davis and Sedger should not be so quick to judgment, attorney David Schieck, who represents Kimberly Battiata, said.

"The record shows that Mr. Miles did not even own the company at the time this came down -- he had sold it," Schieck said. "That people lost property is sad. But there were others not related to the family who worked in key positions of authority and record-keeping. Why weren't these people indicted?"

While the elder Miles technically did not own the company, Davis said, he held a key management position with the firm and was the one who talked him into keeping his possessions at the Miles warehouse instead of putting them in a mini-storage unit.

Richard Heymann, a former Miles employee, bought Miles Storage from the elder Miles in 1995 and owned it for six months. He will testify for the prosecution.

"I saw the handwriting on the wall and got out." Heymann said, noting he has lost about $60,000 settling lawsuits with customers and paying his attorneys. "I have nothing personal to gain from this other than seeing that justice is done.

"People put their faith in the company and lost their property and memories. This is not a common thing in the transport and storage business. There is a lot of money to be made by taking good care of people's possessions."

The District Attorney's office has offered Miles and his son a deal to plead guilty to single felony theft counts and the other four to plead guilty to single gross misdemeanor possession counts -- a move that could lead to probation for all.

Both sides say the elder Miles is opposing the deal because he does not want his son to have a felony record.

Schieck said the problem with the plea bargain is that, "it's either everybody take the deal or nobody take the deal. The DA does not want to make a deal with five people and still have to go through a trial with a remaining defendant."

The deal does not sit well with Davis and Sedger.

"There has to be prison time at least for Miles and his son -- getting justice is all we have left," Davis said, noting that civil action would be futile, as the family claims it has limited assets. Clark County is paying for the family members' defense.

Deputy District Attorney James Sweetin, the third prosecutor to be assigned the case, said the deal was offered because nothing is certain in a jury trial.

"This is a very frustrating case," he said. "Proving guilt to a jury beyond reasonable doubt is going to be a challenge."

Although evidence includes pawn shop records that indicate one of the defendants allegedly pawned victims' property, Sweetin says to get a theft conviction, he must prove the defendants knew the items were stolen.

Davis said there is little the military can do but pay the insurance claims, because the armed forces farmed out storage operations to a private company, so the matter falls under the jurisdiction of local police and courts.

Speaking from his experience, Davis advised service members who are about to be sent overseas to leave valuable items or family mementoes with parents or other family members. Valuable jewelry should be kept in bank safety deposit boxes, he said.