Hearing set Tuesday in Mesquite stabbings

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2003 | 9:27 a.m.

A preliminary hearing for the Utah siblings charged in the Mesquite child stabbings that left a 3-year-old dead and her 10-year-old sister paralyzed is scheduled for Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Beau Maestas, 19, and his 16-year-old sister Monique will appear before Mesquite Justice of the Peace Ron Dodd, who will travel to Las Vegas for the hearing.

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 hotel.

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.

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.