Man gets 8-20 years in Las Vegas shooting after separation of powers debate

A judge ordered a prison sentence of eight to 20 years Monday for a man in a shooting whose case raised separation of powers questions and who was previously sent to prison for a pet shop fire.

Kirk Bills, 38, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and discharging a gun from or within a structure or vehicle via an Alford plea, meaning he admitted only that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.

Bills was accused of shooting a 37-year-old man in March 2020 outside an apartment on the 800 block of North Major Avenue. Three men approached the victim and two fired guns, causing him to lose an eye and suffer internal organ damage. Police said at the time that the shooting appeared to be retaliation for an attempted break-in.

In December 2020, attorney Dayvid Figler, who then represented Bills, argued then-Chief Deputy District Attorney Nicole Cannizzaro, who was also Senate majority leader, had stacked charges against Bills after legislative attempts to “curb prosecutorial abuses” failed. Figler said it was a violation of the separation of powers doctrine for Cannizzaro to work on the case.

District Judge Tierra Jones ruled in September 2022 that there was no separation of powers issue with Cannizzaro prosecuting the case.

“This was an attempted execution,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Portz.

The prosecutor said the case involved two different shootings in the span of about 40 minutes: one at a cemetery where people were visiting graves and the one in Henderson.

“There were women and children who were shot at during the course of this particular event,” he said of the cemetery shooting. “Fortunately, no one was struck.”

Bills shot the Henderson victim, Robert Ortiz, in front of his children, Portz said, then put his gun to the back of Ortiz’s head and pulled the trigger again.

“Because (Ortiz) turned his head, the bullet went through his head, but he lost his eye instead of his life that day,” Portz said.

Bills fled to Minnesota after the shootings, where he was arrested after robbing someone at gun point, according to the prosecutor.

Defense attorney Michael Miceli said Bills used an Alford plea because he wouldn’t admit he was part of the cemetery shooting and was not sure if he or another suspect hit the Henderson victim.

No one else was charged in the case, Miceli said after court.

Bills believes the victim “was the initial aggressor,” according his attorney. Bills also insists he did not shoot the victim at close range.

Miceli said his client suffers from “severe mental health issues” and has a history of self-medicating with illegal narcotics. In his statement to the court, Bills blamed his actions on his mental health and addiction problems, but said he feels “regret and remorse.”

In 2015, Bills was sentenced to four- to ten-years in prison for his role in a scheme to burn down a pet shop for insurance money.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.