Murder defendant says killing was accidental

Erica D. Johnson

Monday, March 17, 2003 | 8:50 a.m.

A convicted felon who had been begging last year in downtown Las Vegas told jurors Friday that he is charged with murder for an accidental killing.

Jurors were expected to begin deliberating today whether they believe 33-year-old Steven Kaczmarek of Ohio.

If Kaczmarek is found guilty of the September 2002 murder and robbery of 58-year-old Pedro "Pete" Villareal, Kaczmarek could be sentenced to death.

Kaczmarek told jurors that on the day Villareal was killed he and his 15-year-old girlfriend, Alicia Burns, went to Villareal's room at the Uptown Motel, 813 Ogden St., where Villareal expected to pay Burns $200 for sex.

But Burns had another plan when the three arrived at the motel, Kaczmarek testified.

"She wanted to try to rob the guy instead. I said OK. I pretty much did whatever she wanted to do," Kaczmarek said.

Kaczmarek told jurors that when Burns began attacking the man, he jumped in to help.

"It happened so fast," he said. "All of a sudden Alicia just jumped on him. She was trying to force him down. Then she went over and started stomping on his neck and throat."

Kaczmarek said he eventually put Villareal in a choke hold while Burns rifled through his pockets for "anything of value." Villareal passed out, he said.

"I was trying to choke him, not kill him," he said. "I just wanted him to pass out long enough to rob him."

Villareal was later found face down in a bathtub with the water running. His hands and feet were tied together with electrical cords and a sock was stuffed down his throat. He died of asphyxiation, according to court testimony.

Kaczmarek said he had tied Villareal's hands with an extension cord and Burns bound his feet. It was Burns' idea to put Villareal in the bathtub, Kaczmarek said.

Kaczmarek said he and Burns took $20 from Villareal, along with a gold chain and a VCR. Kaczmarek told the jury he pawned the items for $40 downtown.

Burns also faces murder charges. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for April. She will be tried separately and as an adult. State law allows juveniles 8 and older to be handled as adults by the criminal justice system if they are charged with certain crimes. The law does not allow people who were younger than 16 when they committed murder to be sentenced to death, however.

Defense attorney Paul Wommer said Kaczmarek should be charged with robbery, but called his murder charge "overcharging by the state."

But Ed Pryor, a witness for the prosecution, told jurors Kaczmarek confessed to the killing in October while the two were housed at the Clark County Detention Center.

Pryor, a twice convicted felon, was being held at the jail pending statutory sexual seduction charges. Kaczmarek was in custody after being picked up on unrelated warrants.

Pryor went to police after Kaczmarek told him he'd killed a man "with his bare hands," he said.

"(Kaczmarek) said he was a black belt in karate," Pryor said. "He said he put the guy in a headlock. It's not every day someone tells you they killed someone."

Pryor also said he had not benefited in any way from his testimony.

In opening statements, Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Guymon described Kaczmarek as a scam artist who moved to Las Vegas from Ohio and supported himself by begging on the streets of downtown Las Vegas.