2 accused in Tammy Meyers slaying reject plea deal

Two men accused in the fatal shooting of 44-year-old mother Tammy Meyers have rejected an offer from prosecutors to plead guilty.

Prosecutor David Stanton said he extended an offer to both Erich Nowsch, the alleged gunman, and Derrick Andrews, who drove a getaway vehicle, but they had rejected the deal.

"It was an offer that both had to accept," Stanton said Wednesday. "Neither of the defendants accepted it, and the offer has been withdrawn."

The two are scheduled to appear in court today, when the terms of that deal are expected to be revealed.

Lawyers for Nowsch and Andrews declined to discuss the details of the offer.

"We engaged in extensive communication about it," said Conrad Claus, who represents Nowsch. "We did not believe that it was in my client's best interest at this time to accept the negotiation offer by the state."

Attorneys Josh Tomsheck and Roy Nelson, who represent Andrews, confirmed that both defendants were required to enter pleas in order for the deal to go down.

"There is clearly a culpable party," Tomsheck said. "But we cannot take a negotiation without the culpable party taking it as well. Given those circumstances, and the offers that have been extended, it's likely that Mr. Andrews is going to trial because he is not responsible for the death of Mrs. Meyers."

Nowsch, 20, testified during a hearing last month that he was high on marijuana when he confessed to the killing.

Nowsch's lawyers wanted his hourslong interview with Las Vegas police to be thrown out of court, arguing he was too intoxicated to understand what was happening.

District Judge Michael Villani ruled, however, that a jury should be allowed to hear Nowsch's statement to detectives.

As authorities surrounded Nowsch's home in the 7900 block of Cherry River Drive on the afternoon of Feb. 19, he told one officer via cellphone that he wanted to smoke pot to calm his nerves. The officer advised against it, but Nowsch said he got high anyway before he surrendered.

A detective told the judge Nowsch did not show any signs of being high when he was taken to an interrogation room. Nowsch only mentioned that he felt sick when he started talking about the shooting.

Prosecutor David Stanton said Nowsch was coherent enough to deny his role in the killing for at least an hour into his interview with the detective.

Trials for Nowsch, 20, and Derrick Andrews, 27, is planned for next month.

The two have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and a gun charge in Meyers' Feb. 14 death. Both men are being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail.

Samuel Schwartz, a lawyer for the Meyers family, said they would not comment on the negotiations.

"Erich Nowsch confessed to the murder, which verified the Meyers family's version of what happened that night," he said. "The Meyers family now looks forward to the trial so that they can soon put Tammy Meyers to rest fully and finally."

Prosecutors said Andrews was behind the wheel of a silver 2000 Audi A6 from which Nowsch fired 24 shots, striking Meyers in the head Feb. 12 while she stood in the cul-de-sac in front of her northwest valley home. She died two days later.

The shootout was initially attributed to "road rage," but a prosecutor said the deadly chain of events started when Meyers saw Andrews'™ car and mistakenly thought it was one that had earlier bumped hers.

Nowsch told police he was in a park across the street from Johnson Junior High School when he noticed a green car that seemed to be following him. He said he thought the car was carrying people who had threatened him and his family.

Nowsch called friends for help, according to police, then climbed into the Audi.

Meyers was in a green Buick Park Avenue with her son, Brandon Meyers. She approached from behind and followed as Andrews drove away, said Stanton, the prosecutor.

Police said Nowsch was in the passenger seat of Andrews'™ car with a Ruger .45-caliber handgun. He fired at least five shots at the Buick before Meyers drove away, authorities said, and Andrews and Nowsch then gave chase.

Meyers ultimately stopped her car outside her home, where she was caught in a hail of gunfire. Brandon Meyers returned fire with his own pistol but hit no one.

In a separate incident that happened three days after the shooting, Nowsch faces charges of battery with use of a deadly weapon and child abuse or neglect with use of a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors said Nowsch held a knife to the neck of a 13-year-old boy on Feb. 15 near Alta Drive and Anatolia Lane.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker.