Nelson Brady Jr. Bail set at $150,000 for man who is accused in murder plot; he's expected to be able to post it

The man accused of trying to solicit the slayings of three witnesses in the Craig Titus murder case is expected to be released from jail in the coming days even though he has failed to show up in court on 17 prior occasions.

During a brief bail hearing Monday for Nelson Brady Jr., Clark County prosecutor Robert Daskas asked a judge to set bail for Brady at $150,000 on three counts of solicitation to commit murder. The recommended bail amount for these charges, under Las Vegas Justice Court guidelines, is $9,000, but Daskas told Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis a much higher bail was warranted because Brady has "17 prior failures to appear" in court over the last decade.

Brady, 34, also has at least 11 prior criminal convictions, eight of which are misdemeanors.

Daskas said another reason prosecutors believed Brady's bail amount should be relatively high was the potential danger that Brady posed. When Brady met with an undercover detective posing as a go-between for a hit man in May, Brady was very specific about the three witnesses he wanted killed in the Titus murder case, Daskas said.

"This defendant took the additional step of ... providing money and photos of the witnesses he wanted killed," Daskas said.

Lippis set bail at the requested $150,000, and defense attorney Tony Sgro said afterward he expects Brady will post it.

"We are hopeful he'll be posting bail soon so he can be released and help us prepare for his case," Sgro said.

Lippis went on to order Brady to "have absolutely no contact with any witnesses or investigators in the Craig Titus investigation" upon his release from custody.

Brady was arrested by Las Vegas police in October amid allegations he paid an undercover detective $1,500 to kill three of the people expected to testify against Titus and the bodybuilder's fitness champion wife, Kelly Ryan, during the couple's murder trial in January.

Authorities said Titus and Brady were housed together at the Clark County Detention Center for a few weeks in February, and an informant in the jail, Deen Cassim, later contacted police and said Brady was trying to solicit the murders of three witnesses in the Titus case. The witnesses were identified in police reports as Megan Pierson Foley, her husband, Jeremy Foley, and Anthony Gross, all of Las Vegas.

The Foleys are considered crucial witnesses against Titus and Ryan because both told authorities that Titus and Ryan made incriminating statements about James' death.

Authorities contend Gross helped Titus and Ryan dispose of James' body in the desert. Gross is charged with arson and felony accessory to murder after the fact, and is scheduled to be tried separate from Titus and Ryan.

Cassim told police that when he was approached by Brady, he discussed how much money would be paid to kill Gross.

"They spoke about a $25,000 upfront payment and a $25,000 supplemental payment when the job was done," police wrote. "Because Titus was concerned about paying the money up front with no guarantee the job would be done, Cassim suggested he could have the job done on his say-so and Titus would pay $50,000 at the end."

Titus has not been charged in the murder-for-hire plot, although authorities have said they suspect he was involved in the scheme. Daskas declined to comment on whether authorities will charge Titus in the scheme prior to Titus' murder trial, which is slated for January.

Pierson Foley's attorney, Robert Langford, said his client would be disappointed to learn Brady is on the verge of release.

"She's not going to be happy," Langford said. "But we do believe the state has done everything they can to protect my client, and there's nothing we can do about this."

Titus' attorney, Marc Saggese, said that last week Titus was placed in solitary confinement at the Clark County Detention Center. Saggese said he doesn't know why and Titus told him he doesn't know why.

Las Vegas police officials would say only that Titus was segregated from other inmates because of unspecified rules violations. They would not elaborate.

Titus, 41, and Ryan, 34, are celebrities in the fitness world. Titus competed twice in the Mr. Olympia competition, and Ryan is recognized as perhaps the nation's greatest female fitness athlete ever.

The couple is charged with murder in the December 2005 death of their 28-year-old live-in personal assistant, Melissa James.

Authorities allege Titus and Ryan beat James, duct-taped her, poisoned her with morphine, killed her, then burned her body in the trunk of Ryan's Jaguar off state Route 160.

The coroner was unable to establish the cause and manner of James' death. In statements to police, Titus and Ryan first told detectives they didn't know how James ended up dead in their car.

In two subsequent statements to police, however, Titus and Ryan admitted to lying to the police, and said James actually overdosed on drugs in their house, that they panicked and then burned the body to avoid negative publicity that would ruin their careers.