Court briefs for March 18, 2002

Monday, March 18, 2002 | 8:45 a.m.

LV man indicted in disappearance

A Las Vegas man already facing a May trial in the death of his mother has been indicted on an open murder charge in connection with his missing girlfriend, who disappeared one week before the slaying of his mother.

An indictment unsealed Friday in District Court alleges Michael Messick, 30, killed Anne Suazo, 50, on April 3.

Police say Suazo was last seen getting into her vehicle with Messick around 6 a.m. that day. Blood found underneath the rubber lip of the vehicle's cargo hatch has been matched to Suazo.

"It's not common to file murder charges when a body hasn't been found, but it's certainly not unknown," said Chief Deputy District Attorney L.J. O'Neale, who is trying Messick in both cases.

Messick will go on trial May 6 in the death of his mother, Hisayo Miller, 51.

According to authorities, Miller's body was found in her bathtub on the evening of April 11 by Metro officers who were asked to check on her welfare when she failed to show up for work.

Her body was found covered in plastic, and an autopsy revealed she had been stabbed in the chest and beaten on her head and face.

Fourth defendant enters plea deal

The last of four people accused of gunning down a teenage girl because she "disrespected" their gang has entered a plea agreement.

Ricardo Macias, the alleged gunman in the Esmeralda Martinez case, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Friday. He will get either 20 years to life in prison on April 17, or 20 to 50 years.

Macias, 19, had been scheduled to go to trial today on an open murder charge and risked a possible sentence of 40 years to life if convicted. Martinez, 16, was shot to death in the doorway of her family's home on Robin Street near Washington Avenue and Rancho Drive in January 2001.

Isvi Fabila, 18, is serving 10 to 25 years in prison. Eduardo Cisneros, 17, received two to 10 years in prison and Miguel Jimenez-Arambula, 23, got two to eight years.

Supreme Court reverses decision

The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that a Clark County family could not collect twice from an insurance company when two of its members were severely injured in an automobile accident in June 1997.

Alisha and Holly Coatney were injured in an accident with an uninsured motorist. The Coatney car, a 1989 Ford, was owned by their father, Michael Coatney, who had coverage on another vehicle, a GMC Vandura, under the same policy.

The Ford carried uninsured coverage of $50,000 per person, which Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. paid. The Coatneys also sought to collect from the $100,000 per person insurance on the GMC, or $150,000 for each of the two children.

District Judge Nancy Saitta ruled in favor of the Coatneys. But the Supreme Court Friday reversed that decision.

The court said the Ford policy limited coverage to that auto, adding the Coatneys "received precisely the coverage for which they paid."