Court briefs for Oct. 1, 2002

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2002 | 9:06 a.m.

Life without parole handed down

A 22-year-old Las Vegas man was given a no-parole life term Monday in the February 2000 shooting death of a 58-year-old man.

District Judge Kathy Hardcastle sentenced Frederick Benson after denying his request to withdraw from a plea agreement. Benson claims he was coerced into confessing the crime and forced to enter the plea agreement when Hardcastle refused to suppress the confession.

Authorities allege Benson, Lakeisha Smith, 24, and Taras Bartell Stewart, 18, shot Henry Zegler in a dispute over a Ford Mustang and $800 in February 2000.

Zegler was able to call 911, identify Smith as one of his assailants and provide her address, Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael O'Callaghan said.

Smith pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and is serving a 20-year to life sentence, and Stewart pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with parole possible after 10 years.

Benson intends to appeal his conviction based upon his coerced confession claims.

State to benefit from CD suit

Nevada will receive about $529,000 as part of a $67.3 million national out-of-court settlement by companies accused of price fixing in music CDs.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Monday the state will also receive about 38,000 CDs to be distributed to nonprofit corporations, charitable groups, schools and libraries.

Nevada and 43 states and territories filed an antitrust suit in August 2000 against five music distributors and three large music retailers, charging they entered into illegal conspiracies to raise the price of prerecorded music to consumers.

A settlement was reached between the states and Bertelsmann Music Group Inc., EMI Music Distributions, Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Corp., Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. Universal Music Group and national retail chains Transworld Entertainment Corp., Tower Records and Musicland Stores Corp.