Teens charged in stabbing face death

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003 | 11:07 a.m.

Prosecutors formally announced this morning that they are seeking the death penalty against the Utah siblings charged in the Mesquite child stabbings that left a 3-year-old dead and her 10-year-old sister paralyzed from the waist down.

District Attorney David Roger made the announcement during a brief hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court in which Beau Maestas, 19, and his 16-year-old sister, Monique, made their first appearance in a Nevada courtroom.

Deputy Public Defender Howard Brooks said he was not surprised by the state's intent to seek the death penalty, saying it was "routine in cases like these."

Brooks was assigned to the case, along with Special Public Defender Darren Richards.

A preliminary hearing for the pair is scheduled for March 3 before Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo.

The Maestas siblings face murder and attempted murder charges in the Jan. 22 attack on Kristyanna Cowan and Brittney Bergeron in a trailer outside the CasaBlanca casino.

Prosecutors filed an amended complaint in which they dropped a conspiracy to commit robbery charge against the siblings, Chief Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz said. The other charges remains the same.

The Maestas case will be the second high-profile case Schwartz will prosecute this year. He is also prosecuting William Rundle, the Las Vegas man accused of killing his wife with a baseball bat.

That trial is scheduled to start in May.

The Maestas siblings were transported to the Clark County Detention Center last week after they were extradited to Nevada from Utah, where they were arrested.

Bail has not been set.

Abbatangelo said the case was brought to Las Vegas instead of Mesquite to guarantee the teens have a preliminary hearing within 15 days of their first appearance.

Had the case gone to Mesquite Justice Court, the siblings would have had to waive the 15-day rule, he said.

Brooks said he was satisfied that the case would be heard in Las Vegas.

Maestas told police the attack was sparked by a bogus drug deal that involved the girls' mother, Tamara Bergeron, and her boyfriend, Robert Schmidt.

Maestas claims he paid the couple $125 for what he believed to be methamphetamine, but the substance turned out to be table salt.

Bergeron has said that the siblings were trying to rob the couple's trailer when the girls were killed and publicly denied that any drugs were involved.

Police released a surveillance tape showing a confrontation between the siblings and Bergeron in the casino, which they say occurred shortly before the attacks.

The brother and sister were arrested a few hours later on Interstate 15 in Utah. A third teen in the car, Sabrina Bantam, 18, of Salt Lake City, was questioned but not charged.

Brittney Bergeron is currently recovering at a Las Vegas rehabilitation center. Clark County authorities have gained custody of her.