Court briefs for June 26, 2003

Thursday, June 26, 2003 | 9 a.m.

Siblings to face trial together

A brother and sister facing the death penalty in an alleged murder for hire scheme will stand trial together, a District Court judge ruled on Wednesday.

Susanne Carno, 34, and her brother, John Brian Ray, 36, face murder, kidnapping and robbery charges in the January 2002 death of 36-year-old Richard Carno, Carno's husband of four years.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure said the pair should be tried jointly because the crime "suggests the participation of multiple parties." The trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 19.

Bonaventure's ruling came after a team of defense attorneys had argued outside court to sever the trial.

Prosecutors allege that Carno hired her brother to kill her husband in exchange for a $50,000 life insurance policy. Richard Carno's body was found inside his car outside a trailer park on Las Vegas Boulevard North one day after his wife reported him missing.

A black plastic trash bag, duct tape and rope were found lying across his chest. An autopsy revealed he died as a result of asphyxia due to strangulation or suffocation.

Trial scheduled in prostitute's killing

The Las Vegas man charged with killing a prostitute and running down a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper in a high-speed chase will stand trial in March.

During a brief hearing on Wednesday, District Judge Lee Gates scheduled Vornelius Phillips' trial for March 2. Phillips appeared with his attorneys, Deputy Special Public Defenders Alzora Jackson and Daren Richards.

The hearing marked Phillips' first court appearance since Gates earlier this month determined that Phillips, 27, was mentally retarded.

The ruling allowed Phillips to avoid the death penalty based on federal and state law that bans the execution of retarded individuals.

Phillips faces felony charges in a 2001 incident that left Ivy Shunstrom, 40, dead and 32-year-old Trooper Robert Kintzel injured.

Authorities claim Phillips killed Shunstrom in a downtown hotel room and then struck Kintzel as he tried to escape police. Kintzel suffered brain damage and internal injuries as a result of the crash.