Man pleads guilty in strangling case

Washoe District Judge Janet Berry scheduled a July 9 penalty hearing that will be conducted by a three-judge panel. She'll be on the panel, which will decide whether to impose a death sentence or prison time for Dennis.

Berry accepted Dennis' plea to one count of murder with a deadly weapon after questioning him at length to ensure he knew what he was doing in making the plea.

Dennis was arrested after he called Reno police and said he strangled Ilona Straumanis, 51. Authorities said Dennis indicated he met the woman recently and that she had been staying at the motel with him.

Straumanis, an Eastern bloc immigrant, had lived in the Reno area since 1984.

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