Killer who hit trooper gets life sentence

Jace Radke and Christina Littlefield

Thursday, April 22, 2004 | 11:04 a.m.

Three years to the day after he was struck by a fleeing killer going 95 mph, former Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Robert "Bobby" Kintzel, 33, limped to the witness stand with the help of a bailiff to deliver a message.

"You tried to murder me, but guess what, you failed," Kintzel said to Vornelius Phillips, 27, who was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. "Nice try. Nice try."

Facing Phillips, who pleaded guilty in February to 10 felony counts in connection with a 2001 murder, carjacking spree and high-speed chase, Kintzel kept a promise he made soon after being hurt, NHP Maj. Philip Tilt said.

"He told us he'd be here to tell Phillips that he didn't get him," said Tilt, one of about 30 troopers who packed into Clark County District Judge Lee Gates' courtroom to hear the verdict. "We're all proud of Bobby. He is an inspiration to us all."

Gates sentenced Phillips to life without the possibility of parole for the murder of Ivy Shunstrom, 49, in a downtown hotel room, and added a second life sentence without parole to be served consecutively for using a deadly weapon during the crime. Phillips was also sentenced to life without parole for kidnapping with substantial bodily harm, and was ordered to serve various prison sentences for the additional charges.

After strangling and beating Shunstrom to death, Phillips hijacked a cab and then a sport utility vehicle in an attempt to escape police. Phillips admitted that he intentionally veered into Kintzel as the trooper was laying spikes to stop Phillips on northbound U.S. 95 near Flamingo Road.

Although Gates ruled in June 2003 that Phillips was mentally retarded and could not face the death penalty, defense attorneys said they entered the plea agreement to make sure Phillips could never face execution through an appeal.

"After three years it's finally over," Kintzel said after the sentence was handed down. "This is justice. I don't believe in the death penalty. Let him spend his whole life behind bars."

Kintzel has had to relearn to speak and walk after suffering massive internal injuries and having part of his brain removed after being struck by the SUV. He has undergone 22 operations, and will have more.

Juanita Kuhn-Matusky, Kintzel's mother, asked Gates to put Phillips in prison for the rest of his life when she took the stand Wednesday.

"We wanted to be sure there is no way he can get out again," Kuhn-Matusky said. "We didn't want him to have any chance of getting out on the streets.

"It's over. Maybe we can go on and go forward."

Kuhn-Matusky read a letter to Gates written by Kintzel's wife Dawn, detailing her loss. In the letter Dawn Kintzel states that the man she married is now gone because of the brain injuries that her husband suffered.

In the letter Dawn Kintzel states that words can not express the "anger and sadness I feel for the loss of the man I married.

"My husband was murdered that day."

Joan Lewis, a Maryland resident who suffered a severe leg injury when she jumped from the moving cab that Phillips hijacked, also testified. Phillips' 20-year-old brother, Arnon Gamble, and 24-year-old sister, Larresha Alexander, told Gates that they loved Phillips and would continue to support him.

After the hearing Kintzel spoke to Phillips' siblings telling them he had no hard feelings toward them.

A wall of Nevada Highway Patrol troopers lined the back of the courtroom in support of Kintzel. Also in attendance were several citizen employees of the NHP, Nevada Public Safety Chief George Togliatti, and two former troopers who are now Metro officers.

Kuhn-Matusky said she had a feeling of deja vu seeing the uniformed troopers standing in the back of the courtroom.

"I remember walking into University Medical Center three years ago and seeing a wall of troopers there, and here they are again showing their support," Kohn-Matusky said. "We have all gone through hell losing a son, husband and a friend."

While Kintzel isn't the same person he was before being injured, his fellow troopers still see flashes of their old friend.

"I still see the old Bobby in him, like in the joking that goes on in the office," NHP Capt. Chris Perry said. "He's still there."

Kintzel is now working about five hours a day in the NHP public information office, and also helps teach accident investigation.

"We're all proud of the progress that Bobby has made," said Trooper Daniel Solow. "With him back in the office we can talk about sports and it's a little like old times."

Although Kintzel is no longer a law enforcement officer, "he's a trooper in every sense of the word," Solow said.

Kintzel said he was glad that Phillips would spend the rest of his life in prison because of the murder of Shunstrom, more so than for the injuries Phillips caused him.

"The big thing was about Ivy," Kintzel said. "He took her life. Now he's in the same place for 70 years ... with other people telling him what to do."