Furniture store manager’s killer gets life in prison

An 18-year-old man convicted of killing an Ashley Furniture Homestore manager during a failed robbery attempt will spend the rest of his life behind bars, a jury decided Friday.

The jury sentenced Thayer Burton to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2007 slaying of Robert Bills, 53.

Burton pistol-whipped Bills before shooting him in the back as Bills tried to flee, authorities said. Burton was 17 at the time.

Burton remained silent and didn't react as the court clerk read the jury's sentence in District Court. Several jurors cried as the sentence was delivered.

Burton's trial started last week in front of District Judge Elissa Cadish. The jury convicted Burton Wednesday of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon.

Bills, a native of Chicago, was on his way to make a bank deposit when he was killed in November 2007 in front of the furniture store on Rainbow Boulevard near Cheyenne Avenue.

He had about $22,000 in cash and checks on him at the time.

Barbara Nepil, Bills' sister, flew to Las Vegas from Chicago to attend the trial. She said her brother was known as a gentle, good-natured man who never hurt anyone.

"It's so ironic that someone so nonviolent would have such a violent death," she said.

A handful of Ashley Furniture Homestore employees attended the trial. Known as a close-knit family, they praised Bills for being kind-hearted. After he was killed, the store put up a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.

Authorities said Burton didn't act alone. A former store employee, Lucia Reveles, 24, was dating Burton's cousin and gave him inside information about Bills' schedule, authorities said.

Reveles is tentatively set to go to trial on murder charges at the end of June.

Earlier on Friday, Burton told the jury that he wanted the chance for parole so he could be a part of his family's life. He also expressed his condolences to Nepil.

"I do sympathize with your pain and for the loss of your loved one," said Burton, a former varsity football player for Lagacy High School.

Nepil said her brother's death was a tragedy for her and for Burton's family, who had also attended the trial.

"It's a tragic waste of a life," she said.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.