RENO - A Carson City man has pleaded guilty to the Mother's Day murder of a teenager and wounding of the good Samaritan who stopped to help on Highway 395 in Washoe Valley.
Victor Rodriguez, also known as Steven Contreras, pleaded guilty to first degree murder in the killing of Rene Angulo, 17. Rodriguez also pleaded guilty to attempted murder for shooting 51-year-old Wayne Nash.
Rodriguez, 24, faces up to life in prison without parole, plus an additional 60 years when Washoe District Judge Connie Steinheimer sentences him Oct. 1.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Greco said Wednesday that he has not yet decided if he'll ask for life in prison without parole.
Greco said prosecutors were considering whether to seek the death penalty when Rodriguez's lawyer offered the guilty pleas Tuesday in exchange for sparing his life.
The district attorney's office had earlier rejected a defense offer to plead to second-degree murder and battery with a deadly weapon, said Greco.
He called the deal "a fair resolution."
Authorities have said they don't know how Rodriguez ended up in Angulo's car. The two had no known connection.
Angulo was last seen on surveillance footage at El Pollo Loco on Highway 50 East at 12:20 p.m. Fifteen minutes later, the teen was dead in Washoe Valley from multiple gunshot wounds - two to the torso and one to the head.
Nash, who saw the car ahead of him swerve, was shot in the leg when he stopped to help what he thought was a car accident.
During a preliminary hearing in June, Nash, testifying from a wheelchair, said he was behind Angulo's car and saw it swerve and stop. He pulled over about 50 feet past the car and got out.
"I thought someone was in peril and needed some help," he said.
A traffic engineer and assistant girls basketball coach at Carson High School, Nash said he saw Angulo face down by the roadside, and then heard gunshots as Angulo's the car sped away with Rodriguez at the wheel.
Nash was shot in the leg and has since had multiple surgeries.
After the shootings, Rodriguez ditched the car along Old Highway 395 and Bellevue Road and fled on foot.
He was later found by Washoe County deputies naked and hiding in brush. According to police, Rodriguez claimed he "blacked out" during the incident.
Testimony during the preliminary hearing indicated Rodriguez was poised to offer an insanity defense.