Man pleads guilty in 2002 drug-related slaying

A reputed Las Vegas gang member pleaded guilty in federal court Friday in the nearly decade-old slaying of an associate over their drug dealing operations at the old Moulin Rouge Apartments.

Corey Thompson, 43, identified by law enforcement authorities as a member of the West Coast Bloods, pleaded guilty to one count of using and carrying a firearm during drug trafficking crimes resulting in death.

Thompson admitted that he fatally shot Arlene McMillian, 41, at the now-demolished 900 W. Bonanza Road complex on Christmas Day 2002 in his effort to replace her in his cocaine trafficking operation.

He stayed on the streets after the slaying for 7½ years until he was indicted and arrested by FBI agents in June 2010.

His plea came as he was to stand trial on Monday before Senior U.S. District Judge Philip Pro.

When Pro asked Thompson to explain in court Friday what he had done, he replied, "I placed a gun to her head and shot her."

Thompson, who is still in federal custody, told Pro that he was trying to move McMillian out of her room at the complex and put someone else in her place to sell drugs.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Bliss said Thompson used a .25-caliber handgun in the killing.

The cold-blooded shooting occurred in Room 311 of the Moulin Rouge, where McMillian was living, according to Thompson's 10-page plea agreement.

"Thompson admits that he murdered Arlene McMillian deliberately and intentionally with extreme disregard for human life," according to the agreement.

Under terms of his deal with prosecutors, Thompson agreed to a maximum sentence of 19½ years.

Pro set an Oct. 31 sentencing.

Afterward, Thompson's lead attorney, Rene Valladares, the federal public defender for Nevada, declined to comment.

But McMillian's daughter, Renail McMillian, expressed outrage over Thompson's courtroom admissions.

"I'm shocked to learn that he deliberately took my mom's life like that," she said. "I hope he rots in there."

McMillian said she confronted Thompson a month after her mother's death, and he denied killing her.

"He walked the streets freely knowing that he did that to her," she added. "I feel relieved that he can't do that to anyone else."

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.