Man sentenced to prison in highway murder plan to kill stepfather

A 22-year-old man who plotted with his uncle and mother to kill his stepfather on a highway near Valley of Fire was sentenced Monday to 8 to 20 years in prison.

Michael Bessey pleaded guilty earlier this year to attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting of his stepfather.

Prosecutors said Bessey plotted with his mother and uncle to shoot Robert Bessey, who was 49 when he was struck by a bullet in the back of the head as he drove along Interstate 15 near the Valley of Fire in November 2012.

Robert Bessey survived the shooting and recognized the gold SUV from which the shot was fired as that of his brother-in-law’s girlfriend.

Michael Bessey’s attorney, Daniel Bunin, asked Senior Judge Nancy Becker for a more lenient sentence because his client had no criminal history.

But in the sentencing Becker pointed to the fact that the shooting happened on an open road and “unrelated people could have been killed.”

Last year, a jury convicted Michael Bessey’s mother Amy Bessey, also known as Amy Pearson, of orchestrating a plan to have her estranged husband killed. She was sentenced to 13 years and 9 months to 44 years in prison.

Michael Bessey’s uncle, Richard Pearson, pleaded guilty and also was sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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