Alfred "Chip" Centofanti III Convict shot his ex-wife seven times and claimed he fired in self-defense

CARSON CITY -- The conviction of a Las Vegas lawyer sentenced to life without parole for shooting his ex-wife in December 2000, just days after the couple's divorce was finalized, was upheld Wednesday by the Nevada Supreme Court.

A high court panel rejected the claims of error raised in the 2004 trial of Alfred "Chip" Centofanti III, including allegations of inappropriate admission of hearsay statements, jury misconduct, misconduct by the prosecutor and the destruction of evidence.

Centofanti shot his ex-wife, Gina, seven times on Dec. 20, 2000. He claimed he fired in self-defense, even though the woman was unarmed. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to two life terms without the possibility of parole.

Centofanti's appeal was argued before the court panel in Las Vegas in October.

Centofanti argued he was entitled to a new trial because various hearsay statements were admitted at trial that violated his constitutional right to confront witnesses.

Specifically he challenged statements made to Las Vegas police by Gina Centofanti when they arrived to investigate a Dec. 5, 2000, domestic dispute that resulted in Gina Centofanti's arrest. Police removed the couple's guns at that time.

It was after that incident that Alfred Centofanti obtained a temporary restraining order against his wife and filed for divorce. The couple were married in February 1999 and later had a son together.

The Supreme Court said the statements made by Gina Centofanti were for the purpose of providing assistance during an emergency and were admissible. Regardless, the statements were "harmless error" because of the strength of the state's case against Centofanti, the court said.

Centofanti argued for a new trial because a juror concealed a prior felony conviction and another juror conducted his own firearms experiment.

The court said the fact that a juror was a felon does not automatically require a new trial. There was no evidence the juror, who failed to disclose a 20-year-old felony conviction for obtaining property with a bad check, was biased against Centofanti, the court said.

The firearms experiment did not rise to the level of requiring a new trial, the court said.

Centofanti's other claims were also rejected.

"We conclude that Centofanti's arguments are without merit, and we affirm the judgment of conviction," the court said.

Evidence at trial showed that Alfred Centofanti shot his ex-wife four times in the torso and three times in the head. None of his shots missed.

During closing arguments, jurors were told that Gina Centofanti walked into an ambush when she arrived at 8720 Wintry Garden Ave. on the evening of her death. She had come to the home to pick up her 4-month-old son for visitation.

A Clark County prosecutor said Alfred Centofanti had retrieved the couple's guns from Las Vegas police earlier that day and used one of them to commit the murder. The gun was not loaded when police returned it to him, the prosecutor said.