Court briefs for January 15, 2002

Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2002 | 9:56 a.m.

Bail hiked for casino heist suspect

Bail for a Las Vegas man suspected in a series of hotel-casino robberies more than doubled during his arraignment Monday.

Pedro Duarte, who is suspected of robbing the Desert Inn in June 1999 along with his brothers-in-law Jose Vigoa and Luis Suarez, appeared in court Monday to ask that his bail be lowered from $1.75 million.

Instead, District Judge Kathy Hardcastle increased Duarte's bail to $5.5 million, Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger said.

Vigoa is scheduled to go to trial July 8 on charges of robbing the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Desert Inn and Mandalay Bay between June 1998 and June 2000. He is also facing charges in connection with the March 2000 slayings of two armored guards at a Henderson Ross Dress-for-Less store.

Duarte, 37, faces seven counts in connection with the June 28, 1999, robbery of the Desert Inn, and Suarez, 37, faces 14 counts in connection with the robbery at the Bellagio.

Second prison term given in slaying

A Las Vegas man serving a no-parole life term in connection with a deadly race-related shooting was given a concurrent prison sentence of seven to 32 years Monday.

Damon Campbell, 26, was convicted in November of killing 32-year-old Louis Alberto Martinez in an alley east of downtown Las Vegas.

Witnesses said Campbell, who is black, opened fire after saying that he didn't want to see Hispanics in his neighborhood.

Campbell was also found guilty of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon in the shooting of Carlos Villanueva, 28, who was paralyzed.

The jury that convicted Campbell declined to sentence him to death on the first-degree murder charge, instead opting to give him the no-parole life term.