Court briefs for March 4, 2002

Monday, March 4, 2002 | 9:49 a.m.

A 24-year-old Las Vegas man was found not guilty Thursday in connection with a February 2001 shooting that left one man dead and another man injured.

Defense attorney Mace Yampolsky said Christopher Thomas shot Riley Bates, 26, in self-defense after the victims pulled a gun on him. A second man was shot multiple times, but survived.

Thomas faced a first-degree murder charge in addition to attempted robbery, attempted murder and burglary charges.

Stephen Douglas Gill, 25, an alleged accomplice of Thomas, is tentatively scheduled for trial this week.

Man convicted in drive-by shooting

An 18-year-old Las Vegas man faces a possible life sentence after being convicted Friday of murder in the March 2000 drive-by shooting of another teen.

Prosecutors alleged Erwin "Sleepy" Huerta shot and killed Antonio Ramos, 16, in front of Ramos' girlfriend's house in the 6400 block of Meadowlark Lane, near Torrey Pines Drive and Spring Mountain Road on March 9, 2000.

Huerta has opted to have District Judge Valorie Vega sentence him instead of a jury. His sentencing is scheduled for April 16.

Two passengers killed in crash

A Las Vegas man has been indicted on multiple charges in connection with a February accident that killed two of his passengers.

According to an indictment unsealed Friday, David Samaniega-Cerna, 18, faces two counts each of driving under the influence of an intoxicating liquor, reckless driving causing death and involuntary manslaughter.

According to police Samaniego-Cerna apparently lost control of a sport utility vehicle Feb. 7 when trying to pass a slower moving car on the Strip.

The two rear-seat passengers, Rodrigo Lopez, 18, and Gilberto Palafox, 33, were killed.

Woman enters plea agreement

A 23-year-old Las Vegas woman accused of using drugs to render men unconscious and rob them has entered a plea agreement.

Deputy District Attorney Craig Hendricks said Brendalyn Lane has pleaded the equivalent of no contest to two counts of burglary and one count of grand larceny.

As a result of her plea agreement, Lane is eligible for probation, but could receive as much as three to 25 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced April 25 by District Judge John McGroarty.

Lane and her roommate, Melissa Davis, 39, faced or face multiple counts in connection with a dozen incidents that involved tourists, many of whom came to Las Vegas from abroad.

Davis is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Man sentenced in slaying

A 64-year-old murder defendant who pleaded the equivalent of no contest to manslaughter was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison Thursday.

Donald Rinard, a transient, was accused of stabbing John Kilgore, 58, to death in Laughlin in December in an alcohol-related incident.

Police found Kilgore's body Dec. 11 inside a motor home parked next to the Colorado River on River Frontage Road.

Jury rules quickly in murder case

A Clark County jury found a Las Vegas man not guilty Thursday in the March 2001 shooting death of another man.

Deputy Special Public Defender Dayvid Figler said there was no physical evidence linking Anthony Biddle, 25, to the killing of James Banon and the state's lone eyewitness was not credible.

The jury took less than an hour to find Biddle not guilty after a four-day trial.