Man sentenced to life in prison for rape and murder behind Las Vegas strip mall

A 25-year-old man was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for raping and murdering a woman behind a Las Vegas strip mall.

It was the penalty prosecutors and Jerry Howard’s own public defender requested.

“That’s what Jerry deserves, and that’s what he accepts,” defense attorney Norm Reed said. “I think that’s just the right thing to do.”

Howard attacked 54-year-old Kathy Shines while she was collecting cans in the 3300 block of South Nellis Boulevard in January 2015, authorities said.

Shines was beaten, stabbed and sexually assaulted before being thrown into a dumpster and covered with trash.

Police said Shines crawled out of the bin before dying, and her body lay in the alley for six hours before anyone found her.

Prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty after Howard pleaded guilty last month to first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping, sexual assault with a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon.

District Attorney Steve Wolfson said prosecutors and defense lawyers found compelling information from medical experts that Howard suffered from an intellectual disability. Wolfson also considered “a substantial likelihood” that, because of those reports, a jury would not impose capital punishment if Howard went to trial.

Howard agreed to waive his appeals in the case, said Wolfson, who negotiated the deal “in the interest of justice and in consultation with (Shines’) family.”

The defendant “is never going to see the light of day,” the prosecutor added. “We felt that that was the best way to proceed.”

On Jan. 2, 2015, Shines had been collecting cans to recycle and supplement her income, police said, when a man in a hooded jacket attacked shortly before midnight.

Shines died from multiple stab wounds.

Police said they do not believe Shines knew Howard, but detectives think Howard targeted Shines, who was well known in the neighborhood, to rob and rape her.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Pamela Weckerly said the crime was captured on surveillance video.

“There are few images I have seen in a lot of years of doing this that are so violent and really so scary to see an individual attacked like that,” Weckerly said. “She was a completely innocent victim. This was a random act. … It’s a case that will stick with me for a long time.”

A report prepared for sentencing stated that Howard was affiliated with the street gang Playboy Bloods.

Howard said he was high on PCP, marijuana and methamphetamine the night of the attack. He apologized to Shines’ family and his own.

The victim’s family and friends packed half the gallery in District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez’s courtroom on Monday, many of them crying and holding each other as the judge handed down the sentence.

They declined to speak with a Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter outside the courtroom.

Howard’s family lined rows on the opposite side of the courtroom.

His mother and father reported him to police after recognizing him and spotting his backpack on surveillance footage at the scene.

“I’m sorry,” Howard said, turning to them before Gonzalez closed the case. “I love y’all.”

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.