Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 | midnight
A man accused of involvement in a May 26 home invasion near Valle Verde Drive and Horizon Ridge Parkway was sentenced Aug. 25 to 24 months probation following his agreement to testify against other alleged participants.
Cornell Littleton, 31, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit robbery charge, and District Judge Lee Gates suspended his 12- to 48-month jail sentence. Terms of his probation include abiding by any imposed curfew, attending counseling, maintaining employment and electronic monitoring.
"The state's position is that he was the lookout on the whole process," Deputy District Attorney Sam Bateman said. "He was the least culpable of the whole group."
Cesely Hopper of the Clark County Public Defender's Office said Littleton had no felonies or misdemeanors and maintained the strong support of his family in Arizona, where his wife and children live.
"He's working two jobs," she said.
Littleton had already testified during grand jury proceedings.
Police allege that the robbery represented the culmination of a scheme to bilk money from a 70-year-old woman, who was allegedly told to pay tens of thousands of dollars to secure the trust fund of her late husband.
Eventually, police allege, she received physical threats preceding the home invasion, which later ended in one of the alleged robbers, Mark Schwimer, shooting and killing himself.
The 70-year-old victim told police two masked men entered the home, and one dragged her across the ground, demanding money. A 50-year-old resident of the house told police he was shot after being roused from his sleep.
Michael Tarkington, 25, and Javier Ruiz, 28, face charges of conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary with a firearm, kidnapping with a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery with a deadly weapon and battery with use of a deadly weapon. They are set to stand trial Feb. 2.
Dave Clark is a reporter for the Home News. He can be reached at 990-2677 or [email protected].
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