By Cy Ryan

Wed, Apr 16, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Carson City — Vornelius J. Phillips will get a chance to withdraw his guilty plea in the killing of a prostitute in Las Vegas and the running over of a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper in a high-speed chase.

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that Phillips should be granted a hearing to show that his attorneys were ineffective in advising him to plead guilty to murder, kidnapping, robbery, attempted murder and other charges.

He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Although a District Court in 2004 found that he was mentally handicapped and could not receive the death penalty, Phillips, in a petition filed by his new attorney, said his former attorneys nevertheless advised him to plead guilty to avoid a possible death sentence. Because he was not eligible for the death penalty, Phillips did not benefit by pleading guilty, as shown by the fact that he received the maximum sentence possible under the circumstances.

“All parties and the court agree that Phillips’ counsel advised him to plead guilty in order to avoid the death penalty,” the court said. “If avoiding the death penalty was counsel’s sole reason for advising Phillips to plead guilty, this advice could have constituted ineffective assistance.”

The defense attorneys at the time said the prosecution could have appealed the District Court’s finding that Phillips was mentally handicapped. If prosecutors had prevailed on that point, he could have faced the death penalty.

If a District Court judge finds that Phillips received ineffective advice from his first defense team, he could withdraw his plea and go to trial.

Phillips pleaded guilty to the beating and strangulation of Ivy Shunstrom in a motel and to stealing a taxi and another car and running over Patrol Trooper Robert “Bobby” Kintzel. Kintzel, who was setting up metal road spikes to stop Phillips, was critically injured.

Phillips, now 32, is an inmate at Ely State Prison.

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Allowing the unemployed to file their claims by telephone or via the Internet has opened the door to increased fraud.

“People find it easier to lie to a device rather than a face,” Steve Zuelke of the state Employment Security Division said.

Even people in city and county jails are filing claims in an attempt to cheat the system.

The department held public meetings last week in Las Vegas and Carson City to discuss ways to tighten the system to prevent fraud.

Cynthia Jones, administrator of the division, said it plans to ask the 2009 Legislature for law changes to increase penalties to deter some who might try to cheat the system.

The average weekly unemployment benefit is about $236, with 80 percent of those who apply collecting more than $200 a week.

Jones said one possible change would toughen an existing remedy — which requires individuals to repay benefits for which they were not eligible — by adding fines and interest.

The most common rip-off, officials said, is collecting unemployment benefits while working. And jail inmates sometimes apply over the telephone or provide their spouse or a friend with their Social Security number and other documents to seek benefits.