Thread: 2 illegal aliens guilty in fatal Vegas Strip bombing UPDATED

2 illegal aliens guilty in fatal Vegas Strip bombing

By KEN RITTER, The Associated Press
12:38 p.m. August 28, 2009

LAS VEGAS — Two illegal aliens have been found guilty of capital murder charges in a fatal parking lot bombing outside a Las Vegas Strip hotel in 2007.

A jury found that bombmaker Porfirio Duarte-Herrera of Nicaragua and a friend identified as Omar Rueda-Denvers of Guatemala killed 24-year-old Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio with a pipe bomb in the parking lot of the Luxor hotel-casino. Rueda-Denvers also uses the name Alexander Perez.

The same jury will hear additional evidence before deciding whether the two men should be put to death, get life in prison or be eligible for parole.

Prosecutors allege the men killed Dorantes Antonio because he was dating Rueda-Denvers's ex-girlfriend.

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2 immigrants guilty in fatal Vegas Strip bombing

By KEN RITTER

1:19 p.m. August 28, 2009

LAS VEGAS — A Nevada jury found two illegal immigrants guilty Friday of capital murder and explosives charges in a parking lot bombing that killed a hot dog stand vendor outside a Las Vegas Strip hotel in 2007.

Admitted bombmaker Porfirio Duarte-Herrera, 29, of Nicaragua, stared straight ahead as the verdicts were read in Clark County District Court.

His friend, identified as Omar Rueda-Denvers, 33, of Guatemala, bowed his head and gripped the defense table in front of him.

They were pronounced guilty of killing 24-year-old Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio with a pipe bomb in the parking lot of the Luxor hotel-casino. Rueda-Denvers also uses the name Alexander Perez.

"Obviously, this is exactly what we've argued to the jury," prosecutor Nell Keenan said. "We agree with the verdict."

Keenan said the state will seek the death penalty in the trial's penalty phase.

Judge Michael Villani told the 11-woman, one-man jury that it will hear additional evidence before deciding whether the two men should be sentenced to death, imprisoned for life without parole, or offered an opportunity for release on parole.

Duarte-Herrera and Rueda-Denvers also face up to 58 years for being found guilty of attempted murder, two counts each of possession of an explosive or incendiary device and transportation or receipt of an explosive.

Lawyers for both men huddled with their clients separately outside the courtroom immediately after the verdicts were read.

Prosecutors alleged the men killed Dorantes Antonio because he was dating Rueda-Denvers' ex-girlfriend, Caren Chali. Chali, now 30, the mother of Rueda-Denvers' child, worked with Dorantes Antonio at a Nathan's hot dog stand at the Luxor and was with him when the bomb exploded. She was not injured.

Dorantes Antonio's hand was blown off when he lifted the 24-ounce 7-Eleven coffee cup off the roof of his car, and a piece of metal pierced his forehead, killing him. Shards of the bomb were found a football field away in every direction.

Jurors were shown a sketch that police said Duarte-Herrera drew for them of the fatal device, which was triggered by a motion-activated switch.

Neither defendant testified during four days of testimony that ended Wednesday. Jurors deliberated a little more than five hours before reaching a verdict.

Attorneys for each man blamed the other defendant for the May 7, 2007, blast.

Duarte-Herrera's lawyers said he didn't know Dorantes Antonio or Chali and had no motive to kill them.

Rueda-Denvers' lawyers said he didn't make the bomb and wouldn't want to harm the mother of his daughter.



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Aug. 31, 2009


Jurors begin deliberations in penalty phase of Luxor bombing trial

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Two men found guilty of murder for the May 2007 fatal bombing in the Luxor parking garage begged for mercy on Monday.

The same jury that found Omar Rueda-Denvers and Porfirio Duarte-Herrera guilty of building and planting the pipe bomb that killed Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio is expected to decide their fate today.


The penalty phase of the trial finished about 7 p.m. Monday and the jurors deliberated for two hours before being sent home. The jury will decide whether Rueda-Denvers, 33, and Duarte-Herrera, 29, should receive the death penalty, life in prison without parole or life in prison with the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder convictions.

The two defendants, who are both in the country illegally, were also found guilty of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon and multiple other felonies.

Authorities say Dorantes Antonio was targeted because he was in a relationship with Rueda-Denvers’ ex-girlfriend, Caren Chali, who was with Dorantes Antonio when the bomb went off and survived. Chali had a daughter with Rueda-Denvers.

With tear-filled eyes and cracking voices, both defendants apologized for what they had done and begged the jurors for mercy.

Duarte-Herrera, who is from Nicaragua, spoke through an interpreter.

“I am sorry for what happened to this young man. And I beg you to have compassion on my life because no matter what we do in this case we can never bring this young man back.â€

Jury picks life in prison for 2 in Vegas bombing

The Associated Press
12:44 p.m. September 1, 2009

LAS VEGAS — A jury picked life without parole instead of the death penalty for two illegal immigrants convicted of a fatal bombing that killed a hot dog stand vendor in a Las Vegas casino parking lot.

The jury recommended life sentences Tuesday for bombmaker Porfirio Duarte-Herrera and Omar Rueda-Denvers in Clark County District Court. Rueda-Denvers also uses the name Alexander Perez. A judge will sentence the men in November.

Both the 29-year-old Duarte-Herrera and 33-year-old Rueda-Denvers asked jurors for mercy on Monday.

Each was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder for planting a pipe bomb that killed 24-year-old Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio outside the Luxor hotel-casino in 2007.

Prosecutors say the motive was revenge against Dorantes Antonio, who was dating Rueda-Denvers' ex-girlfriend.

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Guatemalan immigrant sentenced to life in prison without parole in deadly Vegas Strip bombing

KEN RITTER

Associated Press Writer

3:57 PM PST, January 7, 2010

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 34-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole for killing a hot dog stand vendor with a pipe bomb hidden in a coffee cup outside a Las Vegas Strip casino in 2007.

Omar Rueda-Denvers protested that he was wrongly convicted before Clark County District Judge Michael Villani imposed a sentence determined in September by the same jury that convicted Rueda-Denvers and co-defendant Porfirio Duarte-Herrera of first-degree murder and other charges.

"I want to tell you that I am an innocent man of all the accusations that are against me," Rueda-Denvers said through a Spanish translator. "I never solicited the placement of a bomb. I never asked anybody to build a bomb for me — that's a lie. This was absurd and just a shock."

Rueda-Denvers previously apologized and sought leniency from the jury that spared him the death penalty in the slaying of 24-year-old Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio.

Sentencing was postponed until Jan. 28 for the convicted bombmaker, Duarte-Herrera, 29, an illegal Nicaraguan immigrant. His attorney, Clark Patrick, gained the extra time so he could translate for his client a presentencing report that he received Wednesday.

Prosecutors accused Rueda-Denvers of supplying the motive — jealousy — and of accompanying Duarte-Herrera to the parking structure outside the Luxor resort to put a motion-activated bomb hidden in a foam 7-Eleven cup atop Dorantes Antonio's car.

Dorantes Antonio, of Mexico, was dating Rueda-Denvers' ex-girlfriend, Caren Chali, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala.

Chali, now 30, is the mother of one of Rueda-Denvers' two daughters. She worked with Dorantes Antonio at a Nathan's hot dog stand at the Luxor, and was with him when he lifted the bomb-laden cup off his parked car.

Chali escaped injury. But the judge noted Thursday that the blast sent bomb fragments across the top deck of the two-story parking structure — endangering anyone who might have been nearby.

Villani also sentenced Rueda-Denvers to a consecutive 16 to 40 years in prison for attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon, and folded in with it sentences totaling six to 20 years for felony explosives charges.

Rueda-Denvers' attorney, Christopher Oram, said he plans to appeal.

Oram argued Thursday that Rueda-Denvers had no prior criminal record. But prosecutor David Stanton said investigators can't tell Rueda-Denvers' background because he never provided his real name.

Rueda-Denvers also uses the name Alexander Perez. Stanton said a man in Panama named Omar Rueda-Denvers contacted federal investigators in 2007 to protest that his name was linked with the bombing in Las Vegas.

www.latimes.com