Transient sentenced to death in LV killing

Wednesday, June 4, 2003 | 9:29 a.m.

A District Court judge on Tuesday handed down a death sentence for the Ohio transient convicted of killing a hotel kitchen worker last year.

District Judge John McGroarty formally sentenced Steven Kaczmarek, 33, to death for the slaying of Pedro "Pete" Villareal in a room at the Uptown Motel, 813 Ogden Ave.

Jurors had decided on the death sentence after convicting Kaczmarek of first-degree murder in the case. McGroarty sentenced Kaczmarek to three years to life in prison on multiple other charges, including robbery, burglary and first-degree kidnapping.

Each sentence was doubled because all of the crimes were committed with the assistance of a child -- Kaczmarek's girlfriend, Alisha Burns, who was 15 at the time of the killing, Deputy District Attorney Mary Brown said.

McGroarty sentenced Burns to 10 years to life in prison for her role in the slaying.

Burns had pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder as the result of a plea agreement, her attorney, Deputy Special Public Defender Phil Kohn, said. She did not face the death penalty.

Prosecutors alleged the couple attacked Villareal, 58, in his motel room. Villareal had expected to pay Burns $200 for sex.