Trial starts in slaying of dealer in 2000

At an age when many teens are preparing to graduate, Justin Porter stood accused of a crime spree in Las Vegas that included the slaying of a former Tibetan monk.

Porter's trial opened Wednesday in District Court. He is charged with killing Gyaltso Lungtok, a 31-year-old Asian immigrant and blackjack dealer, in 2000. Lungtok was found shot seven times in his downtown apartment.

Porter, 26, was 17 at the time of the slaying and has pleaded not guilty. He faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.

During opening statements, Deputy District Attorney Josh Tomsheck told the jury that Porter gave several conflicting statements to police about Lungtok's slaying.

Porter initially denied involvement but eventually confessed, the prosecutor said.

Porter even told police that he returned to Lungtok's apartment shortly after the slaying to collect spent shell casings from the .22-caliber gun he used to kill the victim, Tomsheck said.

Lungtok was still alive when Porter returned to the apartment, and the defendant heard him gasping for breath, Tomsheck said.

Lungtok worked as a dealer at the Golden Gate casino. His friend and co-worker, Jay Cleveland, testified that everyone called him "G" because his first name was hard to pronounce.

On June, 10, 2000, Cleveland went to Lungtok's apartment to check on him. He found the door to the apartment damaged, as if by a break-in. He found Lungtok naked in the bedroom with several gunshot wounds and called police.

Authorities arrested Porter in Chicago in 2000. He was extradited to Nevada and has remained at the county jail. His trial faced several procedural delays.

Deputy Public Defender Joe Abood said Porter's multiple versions of the slaying shouldn't be dismissed.

Before confessing, Porter told police that he loaned his gun to a neighbor named "Deon."

The two went to Lungtok's apartment on 10th Street, near Charleston Boulevard, and Porter waited outside while his companion entered, Abood said.

Porter then heard gunshots, Deon ran out, and the two fled. Abood said authorities never investigated whether Deon existed.

Abood sought to clarify Porter's confession by saying that the defendant broke into Lungtok's apartment to seek shelter and shot him when Lungtok startled him inside.

"What he did did not amount to a first-degree murder," Abood said.

Porter was accused of multiple crimes when he was arrested.

Authorities said he broke into homes and raped four women at knifepoint.

One victim told authorities that after Porter raped her, he stabbed her and tried to set her apartment on fire with her in it.

DNA evidence links Porter to two of the rapes, authorities have said.

He is set to go to trial in the sexual assault cases at a later date.

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