Four defendants charged in connection with the beating death of a Gardnerville man after a Father's Day argument between two young girls are set to enter pleas Sept. 8 to charges of voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.
The suspects -Anthony Gomez, 30; Jason Waugh, 28; Jimmy Holman, 15, and Alexandrew Vail, 15 - waived their preliminary hearings Friday in East Fork Justice Court.
They remain in custody in Douglas County Jail pending their arraignments before District Judge Dave Gamble.
Attorneys Tod Young and Stephen Rye, representing Vail and Waugh, indicated their clients were to enter guilty pleas to voluntary manslaughter. Ken Stover, representing Gomez, said his client would plead no contest to the charge, against his attorney's advice.
Holman, represented by lawyer Kris Brown, is to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter with a recommendation that he be sentenced to probation.
The other charges carry penalties of up to 10 years in Nevada State Prison.
The four are accused of confronting 54-year-old Terrence Joe Howell on June 21 after an alleged argument between Howell's and Gomez's young daughters at their Gardnerville apartment complex.
According to reports, Howell was kicked, punched and shoved. He died the next day after surgery.
Holman and Vail are being prosecuted as adults.
EnEarl questioned the defendants who verified they were waiving the preliminary hearings and going forward to district court.
The agreements were the result of negotiations with the district attorney's office.
After the hearing, prosecutor Tom Gregory said the manslaughter categories were within the range of the original charge of open murder.
"It may be a hard thing for people to see, but the open murder charge always encompassed the charge of manslaughter," Gregory said.
He said filing an open murder complaint gives the state time to make sure the alleged offense is properly charged.
"It's the state's theory that Mr. Howell died as a result of blunt force injuries perpetrated by each of the four," Gregory said. "The beating caused internal bleeding which led to his death."
He said Holman was charged with a lesser offense "in light of his age and looking at the roles each person in the case played."
Gregory said from the beginning the state did not believe Howell's death was a capital murder offense which carries the highest penalties.
Friday's hearing was attended by several family members and friends of Howell and the defendants.
