Convicted killer Mack denied pension claim

Darren Mack, convicted of murdering his estranged wife and then shooting the judge handling their divorce, lost an appeal and his retirement this week.

The 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals on Thursday denied Mack's claim to a $500,000 pension established as part of his family's lucrative pawn store and jewelry business.

The case was moved to Las Vegas after intense media coverage. In 2008, Clark County District Judge Douglas Herndon sentenced Mack to life in prison after Mack pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder.

About 11 a.m. on June 12, 2006, Mack wounded Washoe County District Judge Chuck Weller and the judge's secretary while firing from a parking garage adjacent to the courthouse.

Earlier that same day Mack, angry over a bitter divorce and enraged by Weller's decision in his case, stabbed his wife multiple times, attacking Charla Mack in the garage.

Weller had ordered Mack to pay more than $800 a month in child support and $10,000 a month in spousal support and household expenses.

Mack has filed a variety of appeals since his sentencing. One of them involved his retirement fund.

A panel of three 9th Circuit judges ordered one of Mack's relatives to turn over his pension fund to federal court, which will handle distribution to Charla Mack's estate.

Key to the decision is the fact that the state declared the couple's pending divorce final even though the prepared decree was never signed. Also, a jury awarded Charla Mack's estate a multimillion-dollar verdict in a wrongful death claim.

Contact reporter Doug McMurdo at dmcmurdo@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512 or read more courts coverage at lvlegalnews.com.