Thursday, April 28, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Murder defendant pleads insanity
Man killed supervisor, said he was a witch
By GLENN PUIT
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Reyes Olivares appears in District Court Wednesday to plead not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2002 shooting of his boss, Vaughn Russell. Olivares told authorities he shot Russell because he believed he was a witch.
Photo by Gary Thompson.
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A man who is alleged to have killed his construction site supervisor because he believed the man was a witch pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday.
Reyes Olivares, 38, told numerous people, including police, that he believed his boss, Vaughn Russell, 43, was casting spells on him before Russell's fatal shooting in 2002.
In one instance, Olivares said he believed Russell's flatulence on the job site was a black magic spell.
"The fart was one of the things that made him believe it was black magic," Las Vegas homicide Detective Dan Long said during a previous hearing for Olivares.
In another instance, Olivares believed his boss had cursed the nails he used to frame homes on a job site at Durango Drive and the Las Vegas Beltway.
"When they were nailed, they broke," witness Jorge A. Hernandez said.
Olivares also accused Russell of casting a fatal spell on his dog, and in yet another scenario, Olivares fell asleep on the job site, then woke up and told his friends Russell had bitten him.
But when he showed the supposed bite mark to his co-workers, there was no bite mark.
"I thought he was not right in his head," Hernandez said during the previous hearing.
Authorities say Olivares' belief that Russell was a witch prompted him to fatally shoot Russell in the back on July 27, 2002. The body was found behind a construction trailer, and Olivares was seen fleeing the area wearing a white T-shirt depicting the Virgin Mary on the front.
Olivares is now charged with first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon.
He was sent to Lakes Crossing, the Nevada facility for the mentally ill charged with a crime, and after a months long stay, Olivares was deemed competent to stand trial.
During an early morning appearance in front of District Judge Joseph Bonaventure on Wednesday, Reyes told the judge he was pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
"He's still suffering from delusions, and that was the situation at the time of the shooting," Deputy Public Defender Norman Reed said.
