Trial ordered in beating of man over spitting

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2004 | 9:23 a.m.

Twenty-year-old Jose Marbo will stand trial for allegedly punching and kicking a man who spit in Marbo's face after he was found sleeping in Marbo's car.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace James Bixler ordered the trial after hearing testimony at Marbo's preliminary hearing on Tuesday.

Marbo had chased Willborne Trammel, 32, out of his 1986 Isuzu several times before the violent confrontation June 7 on West Boston Avenue, according to a police report.

Trammel remains hospitalized, though he is no longer on life support, Dr. Deborah Kuhls testified Tuesday. Kuhls said Trammel is paralyzed on the left side of his body, has a tracheotomy to assist his breathing and earlier on Tuesday suffered renal failure and was put on dialysis.

Marbo faces anywhere from probation to up to five years in prison as well as a fine of up to $10,000 if he is convicted of battery causing substantial bodily harm.

Metro Police Detective Michael Hnatuick testified that Marbo wasn't considered a suspect until a July 10 interview in which Marbo admitted he hit a black man around the same date that Trammel was discovered and taken to the hospital. Hnatuick said he then stopped the interview, read Marbo his Miranda rights and began taping the statement.

Marbo said he had "chased off the black male a handful of times over the course of three months." On the night of the incident, however, Marbo said he did more than chase Trammell away, according to Hnatuick.

"On this particular night (June 7) he (Marbo) checked the vehicle and found the black male in the car again," Hnatuick said. "He (Marbo) told him to get out and he did. The man then told Marbo he wanted to get back in the car to get something and after he (Marbo) told him no, Marbo said he (Trammel) spit in his face."

Hnatuick said Marbo told him he then punched Trammel as " a reaction" and after Trammel fell to the ground he kicked him several times before leaving the scene.

If not for Marbo's voluntary statement to Metro detectives, he may never have been charged with the crime. Although police officers found Trammel's body in the proximity of Marbo's 1986 black Isuzu and impounded the vehicle, investigators have been unable to locate any witnesses to Trammel's beating.

Deputy Public Defender Lauren Diefenbach argued that because no witnesses saw the beating it remained unclear whether or not "three other people came along and beat" Trammel after Marbo left the scene.

Additionally, Diefenbach said that according to Kuhls' testimony there was no way to determine what medical condition Trammel was in prior to arriving at the hospital.