Plea deal frees Pahrump man held on murder charge

PAHRUMP -- Carrying two year's worth of court clothes inside a plastic trash bag, Timothy Lester Liapes was beaming Monday when he left the Pahrump jail.

The 52-year-old man was freed after more than 27 months behind bars awaiting trial on a murder charge.

The Nye County district attorney's office dropped that charge against Liapes and instead made a plea deal that set the suspect free.

The saga began on March 5, 2009, when sheriff's deputies responded to a call at Liapes' home. Police found 45-year-old Robert Humphrey dead in the bathroom from a gunshot wound to his head.

An injury on Humphrey's hand, supposedly made when the hammer of the pistol he used snapped shut, with witness statements and other evidence, suggested the man committed suicide.

Three days later, though, Nye County's contract medical examiner, Dr. Rexene Worrell, formed a different conclusion after performing an autopsy. She told the investigating detective, Joe Close, that Humphrey could not have shot himself.

When Close returned to the scene, Liapes had cleaned the bathroom.

A gunshot residue test performed on Liapes' hands came back positive. Liapes didn't do himself any favors either when he then made more than one suspicious statement that gave police probable cause to arrest him, Close said. Liapes was held on $500,000 bail.

As months passed and Liapes' case progressed through Pahrump Justice Court and District Court, his prosecution appeared to become shakier. Still, it took two years before anything was done to move the case forward.

Public Defender Harry Kuehn said he was able to present the same evidence that Worrell had to other forensic experts who disagreed with her findings. That testimony would have been used in Liapes' defense at trial.

Kuehn credited District Attorney Brian Kunzi with working out a solution to avoid a costly jury trial that the defense attorney said prosecutors would have lost.

Deputy District Attorney Wes White agreed the state had a tough case to prove.

"I think this is one of those cases where, as the case went on and more investigation was done, it turned into something that was going to be really difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt on the original charge," White said.

Close said he has come to believe that Humphrey did commit suicide. More than a few witnesses told police Humphrey was depressed and had threatened to kill himself on numerous occasions.

That would have likely swayed a jury in Liapes' favor.

"He tried to do carbon monoxide four years before (the shooting). I believe there was an instance in between -- I was never able to find the ambulance call -- but apparently there was a pill overdose incident. So I had all that information and nothing still led to the actual homicide as far as Mr. Liapes pulling the trigger. And he always stuck to the same story. Always," the detective said.

Worrell said she didn't remember the case, but added that her findings are not always enough to merit a prosecution.

"It's my opinion. It doesn't have to be prosecutable," she said.

Liapes was willing to talk about his case after leaving jail. He said he had been anticipating the day so long that his actual release was "anticlimactic."

"It's just regular business. I gotta go get a J-O-B like everybody else. I don't feel anything really. I feel like it's normal because I've been looking forward to this day for a very long time," he said.

He said only once or twice did it occur to him that he might spend the rest of his life in prison.

Liapes pleaded guilty to destroying and concealing evidence as well as interfering with a public officer, both gross misdemeanors that carry a maximum sentence of a year in jail.

During a hearing Monday in front of District Judge Robert Lane, Liapes was sentenced to the maximum.

Liapes said he still misses his friend.

"Robert was a good man, a great man, Liapes sad. "He had some depression, which I think is a chemical imbalance. He also drank a little too much. But that's it. Otherwise, he never stole a dime off of anybody. He always paid his bills. He always worked when he had work. He always showed up for work. He's just a good person."