One trial to be held in killing, car chase

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

Defense attorneys for a California man accused of killing a prostitute and then later running down a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper unsuccessfully fought for two trials Monday.

Deputy Special Public Defender Alzora Jackson told District Judge Lee Gates that Vornelius Phillips should have separate trials in the murder and attempted murder cases because of the prejudice that the jury would naturally feel for a man charged with two crimes.

Jackson also argued that there is nothing to link the two crimes together.

Phillips, 26, is accused of beating Ivy Jean Miller to death April 21, 2000, and then, later that day, running down and critically injuring Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Robert Kintzel during a high-speed chase.

"When they were going on this high speed chase no one even knows a murder has occurred," Jackson told the judge.

If the two cases are tried together, Phillips would be at a disadvantage if he wanted to testify in one but not the other, Jackson said. In fact, while it's clear Phillips was involved in the crash, there are no witnesses placing him at Miller's home, she said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Robert Daskas successfully argued that the crimes are linked. Witnesses will testify that Phillips caught a bus two blocks from Miller's home, took a taxi and then carjacked the SUV that struck Kintzel within a short time of Miller's death.

Moreover, Phillips had the victim's blood on his clothes at the time of the crash and his bloody palm print was found in Miller's home, Daskas said.

Phillips' behavior after the death of Miller and the high-speed crash shows a "consciousness of guilt," Daskas said.

Gates denied Jackson's motion and because of the Thanksgiving holiday, rescheduled Phillips' trial from Nov. 26 to Dec. 3.com