Harrah’s not liable in woman’s death

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2002 | 11:12 a.m.

A jury ruled late Friday that Harrah's should not bear any responsibility for the death of a tourist in September 2000.

Heather Vitarelli, a resident of Hawaii, died while in town to celebrate her 30th birthday. According to court testimony, she was shot in the back after a suspected thief of slot machine coin buckets struggled with Harrah's security officers, who were trying to make an arrest.

Stephen Mullen had been stopped by officers 18 minutes before the shooting, after they noticed he matched the description of a theft suspect on a flier distributed by surveillance personnel.

"We're disappointed, but I'm sure the jury did the best they could to see the case as objectively as they could," said Eugene Wait, a Reno attorney who represented the Vitarelli family. Wait declined to speculate on the jury's decision to vote 7-1 the way it did.

Wait and Wayne Shaffer argued that Stephen Mullen should have been immediately taken off the crowded casino floor.

Harrah's attorney, Robert Foster, argued the arresting officers didn't have enough probable cause to arrest Mullen until a supervisor confirmed his identification.

"Obviously, we are still thinking about the family of Ms. Vitarelli," said Gary Thompson, a Harrah's spokesman. "We hope they find some peace and closure."

Mullen, 34, is serving a 40-year to life sentence for Vitarelli's death and a consecutive sentence of 16 to 40 years for the non-fatal shooting of a security officer.