Three Carson City men enter guilty pleas Friday in 2016 drug robbery and murder
UPDATE 5:15PM: Daniel Lease, the sixth person involved with the murder investigation of 18-year-old Grant Watkins, entered a guilty plea late Friday of felony compounding crimes, which is receiving compensation for concealing a crime.
He was originally charged with accessory to murder and accessory to robbery. This is a category D felony.
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Jacob Huttman and Jonathan Skenandore, both involved in the January 2016 homicide of an 18-year-old man during a drug sale and robbery, entered guilty pleas of second degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery in a Carson City courtroom Friday. Reed Haber Skenandore III entered a guilty plea late Tuesday afternoon.
The shooting took place after a deal involving three ounces of marijuana turned out to be a planned robbery among Reed Skenandore and co-defendants Jonathan Skenandore, Hultman and Jesus Garcia. Grant Watkins, 18, was killed in the shooting. Garcia had previously pled to second degree murder.
The second degree murder charge carries a penalty of life with the possibility of parole after 10 years have been served or a definite term of 25 years with eligibility for parole after a minimum of 10 years has been served — the parties are free to argue which penalty is most appropriate in this case.
The pleas came down in Court Department 2 of the First Judicial District Court. The shooting took place after a deal involving three ounces of marijuana turned out to be a planned robbery among Skenandore and other co-defendants. Grant Watkins, 18, was killed in the shooting.
The conspiracy to commit robbery carries a penalty of 1 to 6 years and we are free to argue if that charge runs concurrently or consecutively to the second degree murder charge.
Alan Garcia-Manriquez case has been remanded back to the Justice Court and he is expected to enter a plea to 2 misdemeanor charges for his relatively minor role in this case.
Defendant Keenan Blackmore also pled last year to felony accessory to murder.
All those involved will be sentenced at a date to be determined.