Man, 19, indicted in brick-beating case

Kim Smith

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2002 | 9:18 a.m.

A 19-year-old Las Vegas man will be arraigned Wednesday on a murder charge in connection with a January incident that left one man dead and another clinging to life.

Usman Anuku Sadiq faces three charges -- open murder, attempted murder and battery causing substantial bodily harm -- according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday in District Court.

All of the charges allege a weapon was used, which would double any potential sentence.

According to police, Kristopher Gregory, 21, and Jesse Covington, 24 -- who were in a truck which they eventually crashed into a wall -- got into a fight with a group of men at the Sundance Village Apartments near Rainbow and Charleston boulevards on Jan. 7.

Police said Gregory and Covington were beaten with cinder blocks. Gregory died, but Covington, who suffered head and facial injuries, was released from the hospital Jan. 30.

Police arrested Sadiq Jan. 9 and charged him with the attempted murder of Covington. He was later charged with open murder in connection with the attack on Gregory.

Sadiq remained jailed Wednesday on $100,000 bail. Sadiq's attorney, Cal Potter, said the facts in the case "just don't add up."

"We're still investigating the case, and I think the police department and district attorney's office are still investigating. It's still not clear what happened in this case," Potter said. "There is a real question as to what took place.

"Some of (the state's) own witnesses contradict each other."

A friend of Sadiq has claimed he has two videotapes of the incident -- one of which he says clears Sadiq. That tape, however, has not been found.

"I doubt there is a second tape," Potter said. "I think that was just a wild goose chase he was trying to send everyone on."