Man pleads no contest in voluntary manslaughter case

By Jeff Pope

Published Tuesday, July 28, 2009 | 10:57 p.m.

Updated Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009 | 1:05 p.m.

A man whose attorneys were fighting a voluntary manslaughter charge on grounds of self-defense pleaded no contest on Tuesday and will have the charge reduced to a misdemeanor if he successfully completes a probationary sentence.

James Peters, 61, pleaded in the May 1 stabbing death of 24-year-old Thomas Minton, who was killed after the two inebriated men scuffled in Peters’ apartment, officials said.

The plea, known as an Alford plea, is similar to a guilty plea in respect to sentencing but allows defendants to assert their innocence while admitting the prosecution could convince a judge or jury to find them guilty.

Judge Michelle Leavitt set Peters’ sentencing hearing for Sept. 29. He could receive between 18 months and five years of probation under the deal reached with the prosecution.

The charge of voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon will be reduced to a misdemeanor of conspiracy to commit voluntary manslaughter if he completes probation.

Tuesday’s hearing had originally been set to hear a motion to have Deputy District Attorney Dan Westmeyer removed from the case.

Attorneys with the Clark County Special Public Defender’s office said Tuesday that homicide detectives mishandled the investigation and that the prosecution had threatened to try to file a murder charge against Peters in retaliation for turning down an earlier plea agreement.

Metro Police originally arrested Peters on a charge of first-degree murder. But at a preliminary hearing in May in Las Vegas Justice Court, a judge reduced the charge to voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon after the prosecution failed to prove the act was premeditated or intentional.

The defense maintained that Peters, who uses a scooter or wheelchair to get around, was protecting himself and his wife from the younger and stronger Minton and sought to have the case dismissed under state self-defense laws.

Peters’ attorneys, Randall Pike and Patricia Palm, had filed a motion to have Westmeyer removed from the case, claiming the prosecution was threatening to file a new murder indictment in retaliation for turning down an initial plea offer.

The motion also claimed the prosecution failed to turn over all evidence to the defense. The allegation was aimed at Metro investigators, who did not collect DNA from the knife recovered from the apartment, according to the court document.

Metro Detective Laura Andersen denied that allegation, saying two knives were tested. Other knives in the apartment were not tested because, Andersen said, they weren’t used in the crime.

Pike said the motion was directed at the District Attorney’s Office and Metro homicide detectives. Pike said it’s rarely one prosecutor making decisions and doesn’t blame Westmeyer directly.

The motion also claimed the prosecution failed to turn over all evidence to the defense. The allegation was aimed at Metro investigators, who did not collect DNA from the knife recovered from the apartment.

Metro Police spokesman Bill Cassell defended the department saying, “We did a through and complete investigation.” He said he could not comment on details of the case.

Westmeyer was not available for comment on Tuesday.

The Special Public Defender’s Office handles the majority of death penalty cases, juveniles charged with murder and murder cases in which there are conflicts for the Public Defender’s Office.

Peters accepted the plea offer just a week from the scheduled start of his trial.

Peters spent a little more than two months in the Clark County Detention Center and has been under house arrest since his release.

Pike said Peters accepted the deal rather than risk going to trial and finding an unsympathetic jury.

Minton, his fiancée and a friend were living under an overpass near Desert Inn and Pecos Roads and knew Peters’ wife, Angela.

Angela Peters, who suffers from mental disorders, often brought homeless people to her apartment to shower and eat because she felt sympathy for them, Palm said.

The group was drinking at the Peters’ apartment in the 3200 block of McLeod Drive the afternoon of May 1 when Minton and Angela Peters began arguing.

Scott Vera, Minton’s friend, told police that Minton pushed Angela Peters against the wall and was swearing at her. Vera said he and Minton had been drinking brandy and beer, and Minton and his fiancée took the anti-anxiety drug Xanax before they arrived at the apartment.

James Peters stood up from his wheelchair and told Minton to leave.

One man in the room who had not been drinking, Richard Wilson, told police that Minton lunged at James Peters. Wilson said he tried to break up the fight and left to call police.

When officers arrived about 6:30 p.m., Minton was dead. The Clark County Coroner’s office found nine stab wounds and nine cuts on Minton and ruled his death a homicide. One stab wound was on Minton’s back.

The coroner said Minton had a blood-alcohol level of .17 percent and traces of marijuana but was unable to determine how long it had been in his system.

James Peters was taken to Sunrise Hospital and treated for back strain, a broken nose and a closed head wound, Palm said. He was given a sedative for the pain; his blood alcohol level was .27 percent, Palm said.

Police recovered a folding knife with a three-inch blade in the apartment bathroom. It was not tested for DNA because it contained no apparent blood, Detective Todd Williams said at the preliminary hearing.

Detectives interviewed James Peters at about 2 a.m. the same night and Williams testified at the preliminary hearing that he appeared “sleepy” but was not asleep.

Detectives asked James Peters if he felt Minton had disrespected him to which he replied that he had.

That statement was the basis for arresting him on the murder charge but did not constitute a confession, Pike said.

“He doesn’t deserve to go to jail,” Pike said. “He has the right to defend his home, his wife and himself.”