Bounty hunter on trial in shooting

Las Vegas bounty hunter Dennis Kieren was expected to take the witness stand today when his trial resumes on charges he murdered the roommate who had bitten off a chunk of his ear.

Kieren had contended to police that the shooting death of 26-year-old David Allen Broyles on March 6, 1996, was in self-defense following an argument over money.

But a third bounty hunter, Mike Woods, testified Monday that the victim was trying to leave the house when Kieren pursued him with a 9mm pistol and shot him seven times -- pausing several moments between volleys of shots in the home's garage.

Woods told the jury in District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski's courtroom that he had tried to stop Kieren's pursuit of Broyles to give the victim time to escape but he had been held at bay by the gun-toting defendant.

The witness said he was standing behind Kieren when Kieren caught up with Broyles. He said he saw the victim hold up both hands and plead with the gunman, "Don't shoot."

But a flurry of shots by Kieren dropped Broyles to the ground, Woods said, adding that Kieren then whirled around and again pointed the pistol at Woods.

A moment later, the witness testified, Kieren turned his attention back to the victim as he lay on the garage floor and fired several more shots in rapid succession. Broyles was hit a total of seven times.

Woods said Kieren then turned around and said, "It was self-defense. I had to shoot him." Kieren then called 911 to report the incident.

Woods told the jury that self-defense was never an issue.

The voice of the witness cracked and tears welled in his eyes as he recalled that he went to Broyles and rolled him over to give him CPR but concluded, "It didn't seem like there was a lot I could do for him. He was shot so many times."

"I told him, 'Please don't die,' " Woods said, explaining that he dragged his mortally wounded friend outside Kieren's garage "because I didn't want him dying in this pig's house."

Woods said he first became aware of the gravity of the conflict when he went into Kieren's bedroom to investigate a commotion and found the blood-covered defendant sitting in his bathtub with Broyles standing over him.

Broyles had a grip on Kieren's ponytail with one hand and was holding a knife in the other.

Kieren angrily explained that Broyles had just bitten off his ear, Woods said.

"You don't understand, he was going for his gun," the witness quoted Broyles as saying. "No one was going to leave here alive."

Woods said he assured Broyles that he would control Kieren until the victim and his girlfriend left Kieren's home at 2828 Mt. Hope St., near Hollywood and Lake Mead boulevards.

But seconds after Broyles left, Woods said Kieren broke free, grabbed his pistol and began stalking the victim through the house.

Woods testified that he told Kieren, "Let the cops handle this."

The defendant responded, "I'm going to kill him, he bit my ear off."

When Kieren takes the witness stand, the jury will not only get to hear his story but also learn that Kieren was convicted of felony child abuse over an incident in Pahrump that occurred a week after the murder.

Kieren currently is serving prison time for the beating of his toddler son, who spent three weeks in a hospital recovering from internal injuries.

archive