A Carson City man, who has spent the last 12 years in an Oregon prison on an armed robbery conviction, admitted Monday that he committed a similar crime in Carson City before being prosecuted in Oregon.
Victor Branson, 35, pleaded guilty to robbing a local convenience store in 1987. In exchange for the plea, an enhancement for use of a deadly weapon during the commission of the crime was dropped. The enhancement would double the prison time.
Defense attorney Bruce Lindsay said a motion will be filed questioning the validity of a trial 13 years after the charge was made. As a condition of the plea agreement, Lindsay reserved the right to question the defects in the speedy trial law and interstate compact agreement. Nevada law guarantees defendants a trial within 60 days, unless they waive that right.
Lindsay said the District Attorney's Office had the opportunity to prosecute the case when Branson was in Carson City Sheriff's Department custody at the time.
Branson, nearing the end of his Oregon prison sentence, was transferred to Carson City for trial on the local charges. Included in the Oregon conviction was an armed robbery case from Washoe County.
A motion to challenge the prosecution and the sentencing were set for May 1 in the First Judicial District Court. Judge Michael Griffin could sentence Branson to an additional five years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
