Police: Man accused in 2 murders cut inmate in prison

By Cara McCoy

Wednesday, April 7, 2010 | 1:45 a.m.

A man accused of murder in two separate cases picked up a new charge last week when he allegedly attacked another inmate at the Clark County Detention Center with a pair of scissors.

Gregory Lee Hover, 48, was cutting another inmate’s hair when he used the scissors to cut the man’s back, according to an arrest report. He is facing a charge of battery by a prisoner with use of a deadly weapon in connection with the incident.

A preliminary hearing in the matter is set for Thursday. The arrest report said Hover was taken to isolation after the incident.

Hover and an alleged accomplice, 18-year-old Richard Freeman, were arrested in February and are facing multiple felony counts in connection with a violent home invasion that left a man dead and the man’s wife with a gunshot to the face. They are also charged in the murder and sexual assault of a Hooter’s casino waitress whose body was found in a burned vehicle in the desert.

Police allege that Hover, who was a process server, shot two people on Jan. 25 at a house he had visited earlier in the day looking for a man Hover said owed $10,000 in a civil matter.

The homeowners – Julio Romero, 64, and his wife, Roberta – were both shot and a number of valuables were stolen.

The intruder shot Julio Romero dead, then robbed Roberta Romero at gunpoint before forcing her into a bedroom closet while he raided the dresser drawers, police said. While Roberta Romero was in the closet, the intruder opened the door and shot her in the face, according to arrest records.

She survived after multiple surgeries and a long hospital stay. She testified at a March preliminary hearing and identified Hover as the person who shot her.

Police say Freeman was waiting for Hover outside the home in Hover’s car while he was inside the Romeros’ house.

Authorities have said Hover and Freeman are suspected in a number of other crimes, including a series of armed robberies, but no charges related to the alleged spate of robberies have been filed.

In addition to the crimes against the Romeros, Hover and Freeman are charged with the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 21-year-old Prisma Contreras 11 days earlier.

On Jan. 14, Contreras was reported missing by her family after she failed to return home from work at the Mad Onion restaurant at Hooters.

Boulder City Police officers found her blue 2006 Jeep Liberty with Nebraska license plates the next day. Authorities said the vehicle had been burned and Contreras’ body was inside.

The preliminary hearings in the January cases were continued until April 29. Prosecutors have said factors in both cases could lead them to pursue the death penalty against the men. A decision on whether to pursue the death penalty will be made after the preliminary hearings.