Charges pile up for suspects in Hooters waitress’ murder

By Dave Toplikar

Friday, Sept. 3, 2010 | 3:53 p.m.

Prosecutors say a Las Vegas court documents process server and his youthful accomplice, who were both linked to murders in two separate shooting deaths in January, have also been connected to a string of armed robberies at grocery store casinos.

Grand jury indictments were recently issued for Gregory Lee Hover, 38, and Richard Freeman, 19, in connection with three robberies that occurred in January.

A grand jury also indicted Hover in a burglary at a home where he served court documents.

Those are the latest indictments against the two men, who also both face the death penalty in the murder of 21-year-old Prisma Contreras of Las Vegas, a waitress at the Mad Onion restaurant at Hooters, whose body was found Jan. 15 in the desert.

The robberies occurred within a few days of the first murder the men were booked into jail for — a Jan. 25 violent home invasion that left Julio Romero dead and his wife, Roberta Romero, with a gunshot wound to the face.

Both Hover and Freeman were arrested on multiple charges in the Romeros' case.

Police announced in February that they believed Hover and Freeman committed a series of crimes across the valley that dated back to at least late 2009. At the time police said the victims of the two men included those who had broken down on the side of the road and were looking for assistance for rides, and people who might have gone to ATM machines.

At the time, they also said they were checking to see if the pair were connected to several business robberies.

The latest grand jury indictments of the pair say Hover robbed three grocery store casino areas at gunpoint while Freeman acted as lookout. The armed robberies took place on Jan. 18 at a Smith's grocery store, 3160 N. Rainbow; on Jan. 22 at Albertsons, 8410 Farm Road, and on Jan. 28 at Vons, 8540 W. Desert Inn Road, according to the indictments.

For those robberies, Hover and Freeman each have been charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit robbery, one count of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon, two counts of burglary while in possession of a firearm and two counts of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon on a victim 60 years of age or older.

Their initial arraignments on the armed robbery charges will be at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 13 before District Judge Stephanie Miley.

A grand jury also recently indicted Hover on several felony charges for allegedly breaking into a home on Jan. 1 in the 5200 block of South Rainbow Boulevard, taking a computer and jewelry and then pawning the jewelry at the Gold & Silver Pawn Store, 713 S. Las Vegas Blvd. Hover is to be arraigned for those charges Tuesday before Judge Jackie Glass.

The arrest report said police officers investigating the burglary decided there was a possibility that Hover, a legal process server for Junes Legal Service, was going back the the same residences where he served paperwork, and was breaking into them.

Police said they did a record check of the pawn stores and found Hover had an extensive amount of property he had been pawning at multiple stores in the area.

Hover and Freeman are being held in the Clark County Detention Center awaiting a death penalty trial in Contreras' murder and alleged sexual assault, set to begin March 7, 2011.

In that case, Boulder City Police officers found Contreras’ body Jan. 15 inside her blue 2006 Jeep Liberty, which had been burned. Contreras was reported missing by her family Jan. 14 after she failed to return home from her shift.

Hover and Freeman were indicted by a Clark County grand jury in April for that case. Their arraignment was delayed several times after Hover in April attempted suicide while he was being held at the Clark County Detention Center and spent several weeks at University Medical Center recovering.

In that case Hover was arrested Feb. 6 in connection with an attack in the early morning hours of Jan. 25 that left Julio Romero dead and his wife, Roberta Romero, seriously wounded.

Hover is accused of returning to the Romeros' home, near the intersection of Jones Boulevard and Russell Road, in the early morning hours of Jan. 25, a few hours after he had been there in an attempt to find another man who Hover said owed $10,000 in a civil matter.

Police said Hover shot Julio Romero, then robbed Roberta Romero at gunpoint before ushering her into a bedroom closet while he raided dresser drawers and took valuables.

While Roberta was in the closet, Hover opened the door and shot her in the face, police said. She called 911 after Hover left her home.

Police have said the investigation into the Romeros' home invasion provided information that pointed to Hover and Freeman as being involved in Contreras' murder.

In that case, Roberta Romero described a small, white four-door car as being parked in front of her home when Hover first served them papers. Police linked that car to a 1996 white Nissan Sentra registered to Hover's wife.

They also had released a video surveillance image showing someone getting out of a white Sentra and approaching Contreras' Jeep.

Police have been investigating whether Hover might have been tied to other unsolved cases or be linked to other homicides.

In a separate case, Hover is also scheduled to have a trial on Jan. 4 for the alleged battery of a prisoner. In that case he is accused of slicing another inmate across his back in April with a pair of scissors while cutting the man’s hair at the jail.