Judge: Cops won’t be barred from trial involving Metro officer’s slaying

By Dave Toplikar

Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012 | 12:48 p.m.

When defendants facing capital murder charges in the 2009 shooting death of Metro Police Officer Trevor Nettleton eventually come to trial, uniformed police officers will be allowed in the courtroom.

And their numbers won't be limited.

That was the decision Wednesday of Clark County District Judge Jessie Walsh, who took extra time to think about the question — would all those uniformed cops packing into a courtroom coerce a jury into a guilty verdict?

That was just one of the decision Walsh has made this week as she sorts through the pre-trial motions filed for the defendants charged in Nettleton's alleged gang-related shooting death.

More than two years ago, Nettleton was in his North Las Vegas garage when he lost his life in a short gun battle with what authorities claim were members of the Woods gang on a robbery spree.

This week, three of the alleged remaining four defendants have been watching their attorneys conduct what has become a lengthy legal battle with prosecutors.

And there’s no clear end in sight — their cases are continuing to grind through the court system, with the next set of motions coming before the judge at 1 p.m. April 16.

At the end of Wednesday’s lengthy hearing, Walsh told attorneys to get together before that time and work out a schedule for the trials of the four defendants: Prentice Marshall, 20, the alleged shooter; Saul Williams Jr., 22; Adrian Pena, 20, and Quadrae Scott, 20.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors told Walsh that a trial could last five to seven weeks. And one of Marshall’s attorneys told the judge seating a jury could be a lengthy process because a lot of people in the community will have heard about the case.

The multiple-defendant case involves the Nov. 19, 2009, death of Nettleton, a three-year Metro Police veteran. Nettleton had arrived home from work shortly after midnight when he was confronted and shot in his garage in the 1100 block of Emerald Stone Avenue, near Lone Mountain Road and Donna Street.

Before being killed, Nettleton returned fire, authorities said.

Marshall, who was then 18, was arrested the day of the slaying at University Medical Center, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound to the testicles.

Detectives said Marshall at first claimed he was shot when someone tried to rob him. They said Marshall later changed his story and told them had shot Nettleton in the gun battle.

Nettleton was not wearing his uniform when he was shot — first in the leg, followed by a fatal shot to the chest, authorities have said.

Marshall has been charged with Nettleton’s death as well as with an armed robbery of an 18-year-old North Las Vegas man that took place shortly before the gun battle, about 11:45 p.m. Nov. 18, 2009, in the 1800 block of Grand Prairie Avenue.

Since Marshall’s arrest in the shooting, police linked five other men — who allegedly belong to the Woods gang — to the officer’s death and the armed robbery.

Two of the men, Michael and Emmitt Ferguson, who are brothers, have pleaded guilty to reduced charges of accessory to murder. Each were given sentences of from 12 months to 30 months in state prison.

On Wednesday, Walsh made some progress sorting through several motions filed by the defense attorneys. Among them:

• The number of law enforcement officers in uniform allowed in the courtroom will not be limited. One of Marshall’s attorneys, Christopher Oram, had argued on Monday that if a jury saw dozens of officers packing the courtroom, the jury might be swayed into giving those officers a guilty verdict. He said that happened during the arraignment and he was concerned about the number of law enforcement officials who would show up at the trial. Walsh said Wednesday she didn’t see any legal reason to bar them. However, she indicated she would be open to change her decision if attorneys brought it up during the trial and convinced her there were problems.

• The grand jury indictment against Adrian Pena will stand, despite arguments from his attorney, Alzora Jackson, that prosecutors let the grand jury "spin out of control" and that the prosecutor’s use of inflammatory questions "whipped the grand jury into a mob."

Also this week, the judge decided:

• The two facing the death penalty, Marshall and Williams, will be tried together, sitting side by side at the defense table. The judge ruled against arguments from Marshall’s attorney, Anthony Sgro, that it wouldn’t be fair to either one of them because they will each be laying blame on the other. Pena will have a separate trial, but the judge has not yet ruled on whether Scott will have a separate trial.

• Prosecutors will be allowed to seek the death penalty against Williams and Marshall. Williams’ attorney, Deputy Public Defender Danny Silverstein, had argued that it was cruel and unusual punishment and violated the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. But Walsh ruled against it.