Judge delays decision on conflict of interest in 2003 homicide case

A judge declined to make a decision Wednesday on whether the Clark County public defender’s office has a conflict of interest in the case of a man accused of a 2003 killing.

“I can see this having great ramifications,” Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus said during the morning court hearing.

Proceedings in the case of Ricky Lee Trader, 47, have been paused as his counsel, the public defender’s office, filed an emergency petition arguing that the office does not have a conflict of interest in the case.

“I’ve been doing this 35 years now, and I’ve never seen the public defender’s office file or ask to stay on a case,” Holthus said. “This is really a 180 to what I’m used to from your office.”

The petition was filed after Justice of the Peace David Gibson agreed on Aug. 6 with the state of Nevada’s argument that the office’s previous representation of an essential witness creates a conflict in court.

“To me there’s no downside in erring on the side of caution,” Holthus said, adding she would prefer not to reverse the decision of the lower court.

However, she decided to delay making a decision because the state had not had the opportunity to file a written brief in response to the defense’s petition.

“I want to read it,” Holthus said.

Trader is accused of killing 28-year-old Theresa Romano, whose body was discovered in 2003 at a Henderson residence on the 200 block of Gold Street. He is now facing a charge of open murder after new DNA testing linked him to the crime scene, according to the Henderson Police Department.

Days after Romano’s body was discovered, a woman named Sherry Wright told detectives that Trader had shown up on her porch saying concerning things, such as that “there was blood all over the place, and she wouldn’t shut up,” referencing an unidentified woman.

Wright is a key witness in the state’s case against Trader, court records show. She was, however, previously represented by the public defender’s office on two occasions, once in 2011 and once in 2019.

Holthus, drawing on her own experience, told the court that as a prosecutor, she has previously argued that a “long-gone” representation may not affect a present case.

However, she said that during her more than three decades of experience, she’s also “never seen the public defender’s office file or ask to stay on a case.”

“I don’t want to get into the substance of the argument if we’re not going to argue it today,” said Anna Clark, an attorney for the public defender’s office, representing Trader. “What both parties want is guidance.”

Chief Deputy District Attorney Eckley Keach, representing the state of Nevada, said the state “has an obligation to uphold the law, and it is acting in accordance with that goal.”

Holthus said she will hear the matter again at a hearing scheduled for Sept. 4. In Justice Court on Tuesday, Clark expressed that the public defender’s office will be appealing the matter to the Nevada Supreme Court if the District Court finds that a conflict of interest exists.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com.