Death penalty not yet decided for shooter

No decision has been made on whether the death penalty will be sought against an illegal immigrant and convicted felon who police say murdered a 17-year-old Carson City teen and shot a good Samaritan on Mother's Day.

Washoe County Chief Criminal Deputy District Attorney Dan Greco said Thursday that a determination won't be made until after Steven Contreras' preliminary hearing on May 27.

Contreras, also known as Victor Rodriguez, 24, is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Rene Angulo and the attempted murder of Wayne Nash, 51. Contreras is being held without bail in the Washoe County Jail.

According to authorities, Contreras somehow ended up as a passenger in Angulo's vehicle in Washoe Valley on May 10. Washoe County Sheriff's investigators have been unable to connect the admitted gang member and felon, convicted in 2005 of accessory to murder, to the Carson City teen who celebrated his 17th birthday on April 19.

According to reports, about a mile past Eastlake Boulevard, Contreras allegedly shot Angulo in the head. The car careened off the highway and Contreras left the teen's body lying in the shoulder, police said.

As he sped away, Contreras allegedly shot Wayne Nash, 51, who had stopped to help.

Greco said in all death penalty eligible cases, a "formal death penalty staffing" meeting will be convened, attended by experienced prosecutors and Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick.

"In each and every single case where the death penalty is a possibility, Mr. Gammick makes that call after the death penalty staffing and that only occurs following the preliminary hearing," said Greco.

He said in most murder cases, the bulk of the police reports are not available to prosecutors for four to eight weeks. Until they are in prosecutors' hands, a determination would wait.

To seek the death penalty in Nevada a prosecutor must find the facts of the case to meet at least one of 15 criteria outlined by state law as an aggravating circumstance.