Teen gets deal; will testify against others

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 | 9:22 a.m.

One of four teenagers facing murder charges for his involvement in killing and burying a 17-year-old in a shallow desert grave has reached a plea agreement under which he will serve anywhere from a year in jail to three years of probation, his attorney said Tuesday.

Stephen Stringfield, 19, was expected to plead guilty to a gross misdemeanor destruction of evidence today before District Judge Donald Mosley. As part of the deal, Stringfield has agreed to testify in the trials of others accused in the case, his lawyer, John Wright, said.

"You've seen the charges and heard the testimony at the preliminary hearing. My client didn't conspire to commit murder," Wright said. "I wish this deal would have come earlier because he (Stringfield) has spent four months locked up at this point."

Wright said he would ask Mosley to release Stringfield on his own recognizance and said that Stringfield looks forward to "getting back to his family and work."

Stringfield was originally charged with conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree kidnapping with a deadly weapon, murder with the use of a deadly weapon and robbery with use of a deadly weapon in connection with the death of Jared Whaley, a Silverado High School student. Whaley was shot in the head and in the stomach on Oct. 14.

Matthew Baker, 18, Cody Myers, 18, and his brother Shane Myers, 18, are all facing the same charges for Whaley's death.

After a court appearance scheduled for Tuesday was postponed until today, the attorneys representing Cody and Shane Myers, respectively, got into a heated discussion near the exit of the Clark County Courthouse.

Shane Myers' attorney, Glenn Schepps, was arguing with Cody Myer's attorney, Andrew Leavitt, at which time Schepps said his client would "not be pleading to anything."

Prosecutors allege that Baker was the leader of the teens and wanted to kill Whaley because he had interfered with their drug dealing.

Wright said Stringfield would have never confessed to taking part in the crime if he weren't physically intimidated and deprived of sleep and food for 11 hours by a Boulder City Police detective.

"He (Stringfield) only confessed to the crime after he was physically intimidated by the detective," Wright said. Boulder City Police Detective Jeff Lomprey admitted during his testimony on the last day of the preliminary hearing that he physically intimidated Stringfield during his 11-hour interrogation.

Lomprey admitted to pressing Stringfield, saying he did so because he knew he was holding back information during the almost 10-hour long interrogation.

Stringfield has maintained that he had no part in the crime, and that he knew details only because Baker told him a day after they occurred.