Killer avoids death penalty

Erica D. Johnson

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2003 | 10:57 a.m.

A Clark County jury on Tuesday spared the life of a man convicted of gunning down a young couple, despite a taped conversation in which he said his victims "got what they deserved."

Jurors sentenced Joseph Antonetti, 27, to life in prison without the possibility of parole after deliberating for less than an hour.

Prosecutors had argued for the death penalty.

Jurors last week convicted Antonetti of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the shooting that killed 20-year-old Mary Amina and injured her boyfriend, Danny Stewart, 30.

Jurors decided against execution despite a nonchalant attitude displayed by Antonetti during the penalty phase of his trial before District Judge Joseph Bonaventure.

Antonetti laughed and smirked as one of his attorneys, Christopher Oram, begged jurors to spare his life. He also ordered his family members not to testify on his behalf.

After the verdict was read aloud, Bonaventure commented on Antonetti's behavior.

"Even as Mr. Oram was begging passionately to save this man's life, I noticed (Antonetti) was smiling and thought it was a big joke," Bonaventure said.

"But we're above people like that. We show mercy sometimes."

Oram said he was relieved by the verdict but admitted that his client's attitude often frustrated him.

"It was difficult for him to assist us," Oram said. "Perhaps he even attempted to obstruct us."

Jurors who spoke to the Sun said they were offended by Antonetti's courtroom antics but could not bring themselves to return with a death sentence.

"I couldn't have lived with myself knowing I put someone to death," one juror said. "You can't play God."

"We didn't want an eye for an eye," another juror said.

Prosecutors on Tuesday played for jurors taped telephone calls Antonetti made while housed at the Clark County Detention Center in June 2003.

"It's too bad they died, that really sucks for me," Antonetti said of his victims during a conversation with his mother.

"They got what they deserved as far as I'm concerned. It's too bad they didn't get finished the (expletive) off."

Antonetti told his mother he had no sympathy for the dead woman or her boyfriend.

"That broad bit off more than she could chew," he said. "The other one should have died too."

In another conversation with a male friend, Antonetti discussed his hope that a legal loophole could potentially get the charges against him dismissed.

He told the friend that it would be a mistake for prosecutors to make an error when handling his case.

"You don't never let someone like me out," he said, laughing. "That's a boo-boo."

"Gingerbread man, catch me if you can," he said.

Authorities say Antonetti and a man named Michael Bartoli went to Amina's apartment near Decatur Boulevard and Twain Avenue on Dec. 1, 2002, to inquire about some of Bartoli's belongings.

Prosecutors Melisa De La Garza and Pam Weckerly said the men got into a heated argument with the couple and Antonetti opened fire. Amina was shot twice in the face. Stewart was shot in the nose and the leg. Defense attorneys had maintained that Bartoli was the gunman.

Antonetti's "attitude is basically 'who cares,' " Weckerly said in her closing statement.

Antonetti is also charged with shooting his former roommate, Susanna Smith, nine times after an argument over rent. Authorities say he also tried to escape from the jail while he awaited trial.

"He has done things time and time again that shows you he's the worst of the worst," Weckerly said. "For that, he deserves the harshest punishment."

But Oram and defense attorney Pete Christiansen presented evidence of Antonetti's rough childhood as mitigating circumstances. Antonetti was born to a heroin-addicted mother and spent much of his early years in foster care, they said.

"This was a pathetic life, in terms of the cards Joseph Antonetti was dealt," Oram said.

Antonetti was incarcerated in an adult maximum-security prison at age 16, after a juvenile judge certified him as an adult on grand larceny and battery by a prisoner charges.

"That had a profound effect on Joey," psychologist David Schmidt said. "By learning the system he became part of the system. He's learned to be hard and act hard."

Schmidt said Antonetti was a talented artist who often sketched drawings during his prison stay. He said Antonetti's dark sketches were perhaps evident of his emotions.

"Very sad, very hopeless," he said.