Gazlay sentencing hearing delayed

Erica D. Johnson

Wednesday, March 31, 2004 | 8:51 a.m.

The alleged 311 Boyz gang member convicted of beating two young men with a crowbar remains free on a $50,000 bond after his sentencing hearing was postponed Tuesday for a second time.

District Judge Valerie Adair postponed the sentencing for 19-year-old Steven Gazlay until April 9 after the prosecutor and defense attorney both requested a delay.

Gazlay's attorney, Louis Palazzo, would not comment directly on the reason for the delay but indicated that newly discovered information could affect his client's fate.

"There are a few issues that have merited further exploration," he said. "We need to do a little more truth gathering. Hopefully by then (April 9) we'll have some answers."

Palazzo said the new information "directly impacts this particular case" and could indirectly affect two other criminal cases Gazlay is charged in.

In one case, Gazlay and eight other teens are charged with attacking a teen with a rock, and in the other case Gazlay is charged with burning a teen with a hot butter knife.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent would not comment on the reason for the delay. He said it was "not unusual" for hearings to be postponed several times.

Gazlay, who appeared in court on Tuesday with nearly a dozen family members, will remain out of custody on bond until the next hearing.

He faces two to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced. Prosecutors have said they plan to argue for prison time. The defense will argue for no prison time.

"My goal for Steven is to keep him out of prison," Palazzo said. "We're very cautiously optimistic."

Jurors had convicted Gazlay on one count each of battery with use of a deadly weapon and assault with a deadly weapon, both felonies.

The charges stemmed from an attack on Sean Quinn, 21, and his friend, James Sarlo, at a desert area known as "the basin" near the Las Vegas Beltway and Centennial Parkway.

Gazlay was scheduled to be sentenced previously, but the hearing was postponed for 45 days after he failed to be interviewed by Department of Parole and Probation officials.