Man guilty of murdering son of former state Board of Education member

LAS VEGAS - An ex-convict has been found guilty of robbing and fatally shooting the only son of a former State Board of Education member.

Scott Bedard, 34, was convicted Friday of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon, 10 counts of burglary and three counts of grand larceny.

He was acquitted of two counts of attempted burglary.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The penalty hearing is scheduled to begin Monday.

Authorities claim Billy Hanlon, 33, interrupted Bedard in August 1997 as he committed burglaries in an office complex.

Hanlon owned a janitorial company and was cleaning the complex at the time.

His body later was found at the complex. He had been shot in the right side of the head, and his hands were still clutching his empty wallet.

Hanlon left behind a wife and 5-year-old daughter, who now live in Reno.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz said Bedard had served time in a Massachusetts prison for an armed robbery conviction and had been living in Las Vegas for a short time before his arrest.

The victim's father, Bill Hanlon, is now a director with the Clark County School District and an education columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.