Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009 | 2:45 p.m.
CARSON CITY – The Nevada Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of killer Bradley G. Drummond, who said his conviction should be overturned because three potential black jurors were excused by the prosecution.
Drummond, now 47 years old, was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 25 years for the murder and sexual assault of Tracy Cottrell, whose body was found in the desert near Craig and Aviation in Clark County. Cottrell was found strangled in November 2007.
Drummond, who is white, according to prison records, said his convictions should be reversed because of the prosecution’s use of its peremptory challenges to excuse three black prospective jurors.
The prosecution said it removed the three potential black jurors because they had close relatives presently in prison or had negative experiences with law enforcement.
District Judge Douglas Herndon denied a mistrial and the Supreme Court backed him up.
One juror had two cousins in prison for drug offenses. A second juror had a cousin in prison for drug trafficking. And the third juror said he had been mistaken for a robbery suspect and he also said a police officer treated him rudely on another occasion.
Two white potential jurors who had bad experiences with police were also excused by the prosecution.
The Supreme Court said, “Our review of the jury selection process does not reveal evidence of purposeful discrimination.” It said the prosecution did not excuse two black prospective jurors who did not either have bad experiences with law enforcement or have relatives in prison.
One of the two black individuals served on the jury that convicted Drummond.
On Nov. 11, 2007, police received a phone call from a man that a female's body was in the desert. The caller was gone when officers arrived, but police later they found Drummond, who admitted placing the phone call.
Drummond said Cottrell looked like his ex-wife. He admitted killing Cottrell but he did not admit to sexually assaulting her.
Drummond is serving his life term at the Lovelock Correctional Center.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy