Teen indicted in alleged crime spree

Kim Smith

Thursday, June 13, 2002 | 9:31 a.m.

A Las Vegas boy who turns 17 next week has been indicted in connection with a crime spree that left two people dead and a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper shot.

According to an indictment unsealed in District Court Wednesday, Giles Manley faces 12 felony counts including two counts of open murder.

The 16-year-old, who is being held in the Clark County Detention Center without bail, will be arraigned July 1 by District Judge Joseph Bonaventure.

Prosecutors had already announced they may try to seek the death penalty for the teen.

Manley is accused of shooting Isaac Perez, 21, May 10 during a carjacking and causing a crash that killed Patrick Melia, 41, later the same evening.

Police allege that Manley kidnapped Perez, a custodian, from Ruth Fyfe Elementary School and forced him to drive away in Perez's new Lincoln Town Car. When Perez, 21, ran into a trooper's car on an Eastern Avenue exit ramp to get the officer's attention, police allege, Manley shot him.

Manley also is accused of shooting Trooper Guy Davis in the foot, then carjacking a sport utility vehicle.

About four hours later, police say, Manley led North Las Vegas Police on a 22-minute high-speed chase that ended when the SUV smashed into Melia's car at Vegas Drive and Decatur Boulevard, killing Melia.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Lalli said Nevada law allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty for people 16 and older. A committee of prosecutors will meet within the next two weeks to formally decide if they should seek it in the Manley case, he said.