Luxor bomber gets life sentence

The man convicted of building and planting a pipe bomb atop a car in the Luxor parking garage that killed a casino hot dog stand worker in 2007 was formally sentenced to life in prison Thursday.

Porfirio Duarte-Herrera, 29, was convicted by a jury in August of murder and other felonies in connection with the death of Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio.

Duarte-Herrera's friend Omar Rueda-Denvers, 34, who also was convicted of murder in the bombing, orchestrated the attack to bring harm to his ex-girlfriend Caren Chali and her lover Dorantes Antonio, prosecutors said.

Chali was not harmed in the bombing.

Duarte-Herrera and Rueda-Denvers were found guilty of one count each of murder with use of a deadly weapon and attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon. They also were convicted of transportation of an explosive and two counts of possession of an explosive. Rueda-Denvers was formally sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.

Both defendants were spared the death penalty by the jury that convicted them. The jury sentenced both to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder with use of a deadly weapon count in August.

District Judge Michael Villani did not have discretion to deviate from the jury's sentence on the murder charge, but he had say over what sentence Duarte-Herrera would receive on the lesser counts.

Villani sentenced Duarte-Herrera to 16 to 40 years in prison on the remaining counts. That sentence is to run consecutive to the life-in-prison term.

Duarte-Herrera also faces charges in connection with a bombing outside a Las Vegas Home Depot on Halloween 2006. No one was injured in that attack. That trial is scheduled for October.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.