By: Las Vegas Now Staff
A 17-year-old is facing several robbery cases, and they may all be combined into a grand jury case. Eyewitness News caught up with the suspect in court at one of three robbery cases still pending. One case was thrown out because there were no witnesses to call.
Burton was also in court to be arraigned in the shooting death of Ashley Furniture Store manager Robert Bills. He was killed last November in what officials called a botched robbery.
A big reward was posted for information leading to an arrest in this case. Several months later, an unnamed witness came forward saying Burton confessed. Burton is being tried as an adult in all cases.
The anonymous witness said Burton planned the robbery based on inside information. Following up on the leads from that witness, police found a sweatshirt with blood on it in Burton's closet and Burton's fingerprints on Bills' car.
“I am not sure whether or not we've made the decision yet as to whether to take it to the grand jury. The grand jury is one method where we can put all the cases together, and we present the jury with the complete picture of this individual's criminal activity,” said David Roger, Clark County D.A.
While the murder case moves through the court system and friends and family of Robert Bills wait for justice, a memorial has been set up at the Ashley Furniture Store on Rainbow and Cheyenne where Bills was shot and killed.
A preliminary hearing for Thayer Burton has been set for March 31st. But District Attorney David Roger says his office will decide shortly whether to proceed with that or hand the case over to a grand jury.
As for whether or not prosecutors will pursue the death penalty, David Roger said that prosecutors are going to wait until after the preliminary hearing or grand jury hearing to see what the evidence shows before they decide whether or not to seek capital punishment.
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