Woman sentenced for fatal stabbing
Latrovia Reed burst into tears the moment she stepped into a courtroom on Thursday.
Reed, 23, earlier had pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing another woman in the reception area at Bally's in September. Reed entered the courtroom knowing she would be sentenced for the slaying.
Through sobs, Reed apologized for the stabbing, which took the life of 20-year-old Taleasha Jamerson. Both women were prostitutes.
"I'm sorry. I would never kill (anyone) with no purpose," she said. "I just want to go home to Texas with my family and my son."
District Judge Valorie Vega sentenced Reed to spend three to 10 years behind bars for the slaying.
"You're absolutely correct in that what you need to do is return to the state of Texas and be with your family," Vega said. "You needed to do this before this occurred."
Reed was in custody and in shackles. Vega allowed her to sit in a chair during the 30-minute hearing because she was so distraught.
Reed and Jamerson, who was known as "Lil Angel," worked for the same pimp, said Deputy Public Defender Norman Reed, Reed's attorney. Reed is not related to her attorney.
The two went to Bally's on Sept. 5 to work as prostitutes but got into a fight over their pimp.
Police said Reed stabbed Jamerson in the neck during the fight at the casino. Reed fled from the scene after the stabbing but turned herself in to police later that day.
She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter during an October arraignment.
Reed, originally from Texas, had lived in Las Vegas for about five years. She has several prostitution convictions and recently was convicted of robbery in Illinois.
Norman Reed characterized his client as a victim of the pimp who was caught up in the endless cycle of prostitution.
Norman Reed said even the robbery case was connected to prostitution because the pimp sent Latrovia Reed to Chicago to prostitute herself.
Jamerson's mother, Keitha Bradley, spoke during the hearing. She said she did not feel ill will toward Reed but missed her daughter.
Bradley said Jamerson, from Milwaukee, had an 8-month-old son who looks so much like his mother that she finds it hard to look at him sometimes.
The father of Reed's son is her pimp, Bradley said.
"Latrovia isn't the only person who should be punished for this crime," Bradley said.
Reed quietly wept as Bradley spoke. "I'm sorry," Reed told Bradley, who was sitting in the witness stand.
"I know you are," Bradley replied.
Several high-profile homicides or shootings have occurred at casinos in recent years.
In 2007, Willebaldo Dorantes Antonio was killed in a bomb blast at the Luxor's parking garage. Two men are facing charges, accused of placing the homemade bomb on the vehicle.
That same year, Steven Zegrean, authorities said, opened fire at New York-New York, wounding four people. He is scheduled to go to trial in March.
Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
