Deal offered suspect in restaurant robbery

Kim Smith

Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

A Las Vegas man accused of partially blinding a Metro Police officer during a restaurant robbery has until Thursday morning to decide whether to accept a deal that will guarantee him at least 37 years in prison.

Should Darnell Harris, 22, reject District Attorney Stewart Bell's offer and go to trial next week, he could end up receiving three consecutive life sentences if convicted.

Harris is one of three men accused of robbing the Macayo Vegas restaurant on West Charleston Boulevard in June 2000. As they were leaving the restaurant, they ran into Officer Pete Rossi. Prosecutors allege Harris opened fire, striking Rossi in the face and causing him to lose sight in one eye.

The only defendant who has gone to trial thus far, Markus Weatherspoon, told jurors in May that he only participated in the robbery because Harris had threatened his girlfriend's life.

The jury rejected Weatherspoon's story and convicted him of 13 of the 14 charges he faced.

District Judge Donald Mosley, who would preside over Harris' trial, gave Weatherspoon two life sentences. Weatherspoon will be eligible for parole in 37 years.

Bell said he has offered to let Harris plead guilty to the same charges Weatherspoon was convicted of with the understanding that the district attorney's office will recommend he receive the same sentence as Weatherspoon.

"But, if he wants to tee it up and go to trial, we will seek a higher sentence because he was the shooter," Bell said.

Andrew Wentworth, Harris' attorney, said that hypothetically speaking, Harris could end up with a minimum prison sentence of 150 years if convicted.