Former DA investigator agrees to plea deal in Henderson court

Saturday, April 3, 2004 | 1:22 a.m.

HENDERSON, Nev. - A former investigator for the Clark County district attorney's office has agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges after being accused of offering to fix court warrants for a woman in exchange for sex, authorities said.

As part of a plea deal with state prosecutors, Peter S. Baldonado agreed Thursday to plead guilty to one count of coercion and one count of misconduct by a public employee. Baldonado, once a respected investigator, faces a sentence ranging from probation to 10 years in prison.

"We are certainly going to be arguing for prison time," Senior Nevada Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen said.

Baldonado was arrested in February on a single count of asking for or receiving a bribe by a public officer or employee. The charge was filed after a woman, a confidential informant for the FBI, told authorities Baldonado promised to quash her traffic warrants if she had sex with him.

The FBI and Henderson police set up a sting, and police reports indicate Baldonado was recorded on tape discussing sex with the woman.

After Baldonado's arrest, another woman who is a potential witness in a murder case alleged Baldonado sexually assaulted her. The woman said Baldonado was working as an investigator on the case when he came to her house and raped her.

As a result of the woman's accusations, authorities also filed a sexual assault charge against Baldonado.

Baldonado has admitted he solicited sex from as many as 30 women, according to police reports, and said he succeeded on fewer than 10 occasions.

Baldonado appeared before Henderson Justice of the Peace Rodney Burr on Thursday and waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

He said he would plead guilty to the misconduct by a public officer charge before District Judge Donald Mosley on April 22 and would enter an Alford plea to the coercion charge. An Alford plea does not involve an admission of guilt, but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to obtain a conviction.

Under the deal, state prosecutors have agreed not to file more charges against Baldonado. However, Baldonado could face more charges if authorities receive new information about crimes not included in the current investigation by the FBI and Henderson police.

In his job at the district attorney's office, Baldonado worked on some of Las Vegas' most high-profile murder cases, including the investigation of Brookey Lee West, who was convicted in 2001 of murdering her mother and stashing the body in a garbage can.