Woman accused in deadly home invasions pleads not guilty

Natasha Galenn Jackson, the woman accused in a string of Las Vegas home invasions that turned deadly, smiled in court Monday as she pleaded not guilty to eight felonies.

Jackson, 35, was being held without bail on murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery and other charges in the random attacks last month that left Richard Ramos, 59, dead and a woman in critical condition.

Police shot and killed the man police called Jackson’s accomplice, 27-year-old Cody David Winters, during a standoff.

Police said Jackson helped winters kill Ramos and showed no remorse.

When District Judge Jessie Walsh asked Jackson whether she understood English, she replied, “Today, yes. I couldn’t the first time.”

Jackson said she had attended “some college” after the judge asked her level of education.

Public Defender Dan Silverstein said Jackson was referring to a July 31 hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court, saying Jackson “doesn’t remember a thing” about the appearance.

He added later that Jackson had “significant mental health history” for which she had been treated in the past.

“I think it raises all sorts of questions about how much under her boyfriend’s thumb she was,” Silverstein said.

The deadly spree started the morning of July 29 after a Nevada Department of Transportation employee stopped to offer help to a white Nissan Altima on the side of U.S. Highway 95 near Tropicana Avenue, according to a police report.

Winters robbed the worker at gunpoint before terrorizing a southeast Las Vegas neighborhood.

As officers encountered Winters and Jackson in the midst of the attacks, police said she pretended to be a hostage as Winters used her as a shield. But, according to police, Winters quickly abandoned her before she walked outside a vacant home where the two had barricaded themselves.

“Cody, shoot them all. Kill them,” police said Jackson yelled before being arrested.

Jackson has a criminal history that spans at least nine years and stretches from Las Vegas to New Hampshire, court records show.

Jackson, who was convicted of battery in 2004 and 2005, was being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center.

She waived her right to a speedy trial Monday and was slated to return to court in March.

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