Insanity defense raised in killings

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 | 11:12 a.m.

The local R&B singer who faces the death penalty in a triple shooting that left two women dead has changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity, his attorney said Monday.

Alfonso "Slinkey" Blake, 33, entered the plea in the March 5, 2003, deaths of Sophear Choy, 19, and Priscilla Van Dine, 22, and the attempted murder of Kim Choy, 23.

Blake faces two counts of murder with use of a deadly weapon and one count of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon in the shooting.

News of the plea came as jury selection got under way in Blake's trial before District Judge Sally Loehrer. Blake's attorney, Pete Christiansen, had reserved his client's right to enter the plea in court documents filed 21 days ago. Christiansen declined comment this morning.

Opening arguments in the trial were expected to begin this afternoon, with Blake's new plea key to the defense.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Robert Daskas said the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity is slightly different from the more common not guilty plea.

The burden to prove the insanity claim is on the defense, Daskas said.

"The defense has to prove that he (Blake) suffered from delusions at the moment of the crime and that the delusion justifies what he did," Daskas said.

Authorities say Blake shot the women execution-style in a desert area in southwest Las Vegas. Choy, who survived the shooting, is expected to testify during the trial.

Not guilty by reason of insanity is a rarely used plea that was reinstated during the 2003 Legislature. The Legislature had abolished the plea in 2001.

Nevada law states that children under 8 years old and people who committed a crime in a state of insanity are among the groups not liable for punishment. The law states that people who committed a crime without criminal intent also cannot be punished.

If a defendant wins an acquittal using the insanity defense, the judge would order the person to go to a mental health facility pending a hearing to determine sanity.

If that hearing determined the person was no longer mentally ill, he or she would then be released. If still mentally ill, the person would be committed to the state's mental health facilities.