http://www.myspace.com/17033252
Update
02/08/08
Mack Sentenced today!
After hearing emotional testimony this morning from Charla Mack's mother, brother, father, and from Judge Chuck Weller and his secretary, Judge Douglas Herndon sentenced Darren Mack to the maximum.
Saying Mack never showed remorse or said he was sorry, Herndon said Mack would spend 20 to life for the murder, and sentenced him 20 years for the attempted murder, and another 20 years for the deadly weapons enhancement. The absolute minimum sentence, should all all future parole hearings be in his favor, would be 36 years!
Judge Herndon said the two terms would run consecutively.
Resources...
http://www.rgj.com/blogs/judge-shooting/2008/02/charlas-mother-lost-after-daughters.html No longer available
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080208/NEWS18/80208028&oaso=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews
More reading...
http://insession.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/08/emotional-testimony-at-mack-sentencing/
02/07/08
The pot calls the kettle black
Darren Mack’s friends and family were called to the stand first.
Cory Schmidt, Alecia Biddison, Lori Alexander, his mother, Divorce attorney, Silverman, John Metzger, Jory Mack, Landon Mack and then Mark Stone, were all saying how smart Darren was at business, brilliant, and helpful to so many people in the community, and in their own lives.
Then Darren Mack took the stand. He rambled through most of his testimony, so badly that it was hard to understand the “truth” that he said he so desperately wanted let the world know.
Then he made this statement that made me question who he was talking about. “She had a disorder. Someone can be brilliant and help others and still have this black side that no one knows about.” He was talking about Charla, but it sounded like he was truly talking about himself.
Mack said he also wants to help in his children’s future by writing a book called Hitler’s Daughter, how to deal with it when your father’s a monster.
In the end, he never voiced, or showed remorse for what he did to Charla, or the shooting of Judge Weller.
He testified of being the victim of prejudice throughout the judicial system, and of Charla Mack, as well. (NLH) Blog
For further reading…
http://www.rgj.com/blogs/judge-shooting/
01/23/08
Allison suit can go on
Now that the Plea withdrawal hearing has been denied, Judge John Iroz was able to lift the stay that had been placed for the civil law suits against Mack.
Annie Allison Is now allowed to have her attorney, Cal Dunlap, to begin collecting the information he needs to take her case to trial.
Allison was standing near Judge Weller the day that Weller was shot in the chest through a window by Mack. She was sprayed with shrapnel and glass.
More stories…
01/18/08
Plea withdrawal denied
After hearing testimony for three days and closing arguments this morning, Judge Douglas Herndon today denied Darren Mack's request to withdraw his guilty pleas on murder and attempted murder charges, and said Mack will be sentenced on Feb. 7 and 8.
Herndon said his questioning of Mack before accepting the plea was appropriate, and said his former lawyers, Scott Freeman and David Chesnoff, provided Mack with strong representation that went beyond what many attorneys offer.
Resouce...
http://www.rgj.com/blogs/judge-shooting/
And: http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20080118/TEST/254793214
http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/13902382.html
01/18/08
Thursday's testimony
Darren Mack's lawyer called his last witness this afternoon -- a person who talked about how to find something in a landfill, before turning the hearing over to the prosecutor.
Special Prosecutor Christopher Lalli called a lieutenant, and then called the last witness in the hearing: Mack's former lawyer Scott Freeman.
Freeman said that he had been "very hands on" in the case from the start, and visited Mack weekly for more than a year.
He said Mack never told him to go find a gun that Mack said Charla pointed at him, sparking his self defense, and never heard anything about looking in a landfill. In fact, Freeman said, when Mack told him that he had put the gun and knife in a dumpster, Freeman went to look for it, and didn't find one.
Resource...
Read all of Martha Bellisle's updates at....
http://www.rgj.com/blogs/judge-shooting/
Also: http://www.lasvegasnow.com/global/story.asp?s=7738850
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20080117-1339-nv-courthouseshooting.html
01/17/08
Boxing gloves on
Sparks flew in Washoe District Court today as Darren Mack's new lawyer questioned, argued with and pressed Mack's former attorney, David Chesnoff, about the decisions he made since taking the case more than a year ago.
It was so hostile that at one point Judge Douglas Herndon jumped in and told Mack's lawyer William Routsis, "We're not kids," after Routsis responded to one of Chesnoff's answers with, "Oh really, Mr. Chesnoff."
Routsis asked Chesnoff whether he thought it was wise to follow Mack lawyer Scott Freeman's opening statement about acting in self defense in the death of Charla with statements about Mack's brain being fried from drugs and being delusional.
For a complete update on the hearing please read all of Martha Bellisle's blogs on todays events...
http://www.rgj.com/blogs/judge-shooting/2008/01/sparks-flew-in-washoe-district-court.html No longer available
01/16/08
Tuesday's hearing
The first people to take seats, yesterday, at the Washoe District Court, in Reno, Nevada, was Charla Mack’s mother, , Soorya Townley, and several of her close friends, according to Martha Bellisle at RGJ.com.
Several motions were made to Judge Douglas Herndon, before the hearing began, one including a request to bring up an inmate from the Clark County Detention Center to testify about how hot it was in the cell while Mack was held during the trial. (Cloey’s sidebar…to confessed murderer Darren Mack…Did no one tell you it’s hot in Hell?)
Herndon also denied a request by Routsis to call Lalli to the stand.
When Landon Mack, Darren’s brother, took the stand he testified to what led to the morning when his family learned that Mack pleaded guilty.
Landon Mack said he paid $1.265 million and the defense didn’t come through with what they promised. He said he felt betrayed by the defense. Resource... me... and...
http://www.rgj.com/blogs/judge-shooting/2008/01/darren-macks-brother-landon-was-second.html No longer available
01/14/08
Mack excited to go back to trial
Darren Mack’s family and new lawyer said today that he is ready go back into court tomorrow to make his case to the judge that he should be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas and be granted a new trial to defend himself against the charge of murdering his wife and shooting their divorce judge.
“He’s excited,” Landon Mack said of his brother Darren during a news conference in an office at the family’s downtown pawn shop Palace Jewelry and Loan. “He has been muzzled. He’s been trying for a very long time to tell his story.”
“The most important thing for Darren,” added Mack’s girlfriend Alecia Biddison, “is the opportunity to tell the truth.” Resource...
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080114/NEWS18/80114037/1002/NEWS&theme=SNIPER
01/11/08
Mack sentencing postponed
Judge Douglas Herndon has canceled next week’s sentencing for Darren Mack, and has instead opened those two days to allow for a longer hearing on Mack’s request to withdraw his guilty pleas, a court spokesman said today.
The plea hearing is set for Tuesday and Wednesday in Washoe District Court, and if he failed, the sentencing was to occur on Thursday and Friday. But Herndon said that since the witness list and motions for the plea hearing is so long, he wanted to allow enough time to complete the process, said court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer.
"He said that sentencing would be continued so they could spend the time completing the motion to withdraw plea," Sommermeyer said.
"I am resetting the sentencing, should it need to occur, for Feb. 7 and 8," Herndon told Sommermeyer in an e-mail.
Resource is Martha Bellisle Darren Mack Blog (RGJ)
http://www.rgj.com/blogs/judge-shooting/2008/01/update-sentencing-postponed.html No longer available
Also: http://www.ktvn.com/global/story.asp?s=7610032
01/09/08
Mack says judge attempted extortion
Darren Mack is now accusing his former attorney, Cal Dunlap and the Family court Judge he shot, Judge Chuck Weller, of demanding $5 million from Mack in exchange for consenting to Mack’s agreement to plead guilty to killing his wife.
Mack was charged with murder for killing his estranged wife, and shooting Judge Weller, shortly after. He pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity but, surprisingly, changed his plea half way through the trial.
Mack has been trying to get his guilty pleas withdrawn and have a new trial since that time.
Mack's lawyer, William Routsis, had asked in a motion to set aside the Jan. 17 and 18 sentencing plan so that they could focus on the plea request. But Lalli said they've had plenty of time -- more than 50 days -- to prepare, and that he has had help from his co-counsel, Bruce Lindsay.
Read more from these resources…
01/08/08
Mack to file statement
Darren Mack's girlfriend, Alecia Biddison, and brother, Landon sent out a message to media today saying that Mack's lawyer is ready to file Mack's declaration concerning what led to his guilty plea.
The press release stated:
Darren Roy Mack and his counsel, Mr. William J. Routsis II, esq. of the law firm of Laub & Laub, file a legal declaration to address the conditions that led to and culminated with the entrance of a guilty plea agreement.
Accompanying Darren's declaration is a legal declaration and an articulate and compelling personal letter to Judge Herndon written by Darren's 19-year old son, Jory Mack.
Darren's legal declaration and his son's documents are public record and will be available on Monday, January 7, 2008. Each day more evidence to support withdraw of the guilty plea is revealed. Additional motions in furtherance of the truth are forth coming. We look forward to the hearing on January 15, 2008. There appears no suitable legal reasoning for Judge Herndon to refuse the motion to withdraw the guilty plea and grant Darren a new trial.
Resource...
http://www.rgj.com/blogs/judge-shooting/2008/01/macks-to-file-statement.html No longer available
12/28/07
Darren Mack's new attorney asks for sentencing delay
Darren Mack's new attorney is asking for a sentencing delay claiming Mack's former legal team hasn't handed over important documents and files that help represent Mack.
The Mack family is also upset with the former attorneys.
Court filings show family members say Scott Freeman and David Chesnoff charged them $1.2 million while promising an acquittal in the case.
Darren Mack's brother, Landon, said the defense team urged Mack to plead guilty.
Mack did just that, agreeing to a 20-year prison sentence before claiming he'd been confused and asking to pull out of the deal. Source...
http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7547059&nav=menu113_5
12/26/07
More about the weapons evidence
Darren Mack's new defense team says there's evidence that could help clear their client. They say it's buried in the Lockwood Landfill and his previous attorneys failed to try to find it. These allegations come from those motions that were expected to be filed last Friday.
You'll recall as of the late Friday deadline those motions still hadn't been filed though we're told faxed courtesy copies had been sent. Hard copies still hadn't arrived by late Monday morning.
When they do, they will be filed, possibly Wednesday. We can now finally tell you what they contain.
His family and his new defense team say when Darren Mack stood in front of Judge Doug Herndon last month, and agreed to change his plea to guilty in the murder of his wife, he was doing so because his attorneys had told him he stood to lose the case. Mack, they said, felt pleading guilty was the only way to maintain his credibility without the one piece of evidence that could clear him.
According to his defense team that evidence lies in the Lockwood Landfill. Somewhere in a mountain of trash lies a gun, knife and bloody clothing attorneys say could prove Mack’s innocence. Read more...
http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/12833697.html
12/23/07
Mack claims ex-lawyers ignored tips about weapons in Reno killing
Darren Mack should be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas in the killing of his wife and shooting of a judge partly because his former attorneys failed to act after he told them about the whereabouts of weapons involved in the case, his new lawyers claim in a motion.
Mack told his previous attorneys that the gun and knife involved in the June 2006 killing of Charla Mack could be found at a Reno-area landfill, but they refused to tell prosecutors or look for the weapons, according to the motion filed late Friday.
Gina Crown, an investigator for new Mack lawyer William Routsis, said in a statement filed with the motion that Darren Mack told former lawyer Scott Freeman that the weapons would support his claim of self defense. Darren Mack claims that his wife pointed the gun at him before he stabbed her in self defense.
"Mr. Freeman told (Mack) that the weapons would not be looked for ... (Mack) believes that these items would contain evidence of what transpired on June 12, 2006, such as fingerprints, blood evidence, DNA, proof of misfired bullets, etc.," Crown said.
Freeman declined to comment on Mack's claims, saying he had not yet seen the motion.
Routsis said in an earlier motion that Mack was confused and in physical distress when he suddenly ended his trial last month by pleading guilty to killing his wife and an equivalent of no contest to shooting the judge handling their divorce. He argued that Mack should be allowed to withdraw his pleas and go to trial on charges of murder and attempted murder. Read more...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2007/dec/22/122210096.html No longer available
12/13/07
Mack lawyer to keep asking to postpone January sentencing
Darren Mack's lawyer said Tuesday that he plans to file a motion asking the judge to postpone Mack's sentencing hearing to ensure that his defense team has enough time to focus on Mack's request to withdraw his guilty plea.
William Routsis had asked Judge Douglas Herndon to drop the sentencing dates during Monday's hearing and was denied. But on Tuesday, he said he was working on a formal motion to postpone the sentencing.
Routsis also said that he and co-counsel Bruce Lindsay still are reviewing Mack's declaration with him, and it is not expected to be released until today at the soonest.
"We just received voluminous discovery -- we're talking in the area of 9,000 pages -- that we need to go through," Routsis said. "We need time to go through that discovery."
The hearing for the plea motion is scheduled for Jan. 15-16, and the sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 17-18. Read more...
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071212/NEWS/712120451/1004
12/11/07
Mack returns to court
The plea negotiations that abruptly ended Darren Mack's murder trial last month were "fatally flawed" and he is eager to take the stand to proclaim his innocence, his new lawyer said after a hearing on Monday.
Mack's brother, Landon, went a step further than lawyer William Routsis at a news conference outside the courthouse and said Mack has been "betrayed" by the justice system in Northern Nevada. He also said the judges and some lawyers involved in his various legal cases are guilty of coercion, extortion and unethical behavior.
"We've prepared a flow chart to show how many of the players are working together and have obvious conflicts in this judicial nightmare," Landon Mack said. "They use their roles to further themselves and are intent on destroying Darren Mack, our mother, myself, and the Mack family financially (and) spiritually, all in plain view of the public."
But Special Prosecutor Christopher Lalli said he plans to call Mack's former lawyers Scott Freeman and David Chesnoff, and his former co-prosecutor Robert Daskas to the stand to show that Mack's guilty pleas were entered in a legal and appropriate manner.
It's not uncommon for a person facing such long prison terms to have "buyer's remorse" after pleading guilty, Lalli said after the hearing, but in this case, it's too late for Mack to change his mind.
Charla Mack's mother, Soorya Townley, said in a statement that Mack's attempt to withdraw his plea continues to show his lack of accountability for his actions.
"Darren Mack has never missed an opportunity to make a wrong move at the worst possible time," Townley said. "For the last 16 months, I have seen no remorse from Darren Mack for his barbaric actions, or regret for the profound suffering he has caused." Read more...
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071211/NEWS/712110348&theme=SNIPER
12/10/07
Charla Mack's mother releases statement
Mack brother releases statement
The plea negotiations that abruptly ended Darren Mack’s murder trial last month were “fatally flawed” and he is eager to take the stand to proclaim his innocence as he has done for the last 16 months, his new lawyer said after a hearing on Monday.
Mack’s brother Landon went a step further at the press conference outside the courthouse and said Mack has been “betrayed” by the justice system in Northern Nevada and said the judges handling his various legal cases are guilty of coercion, extortion and unethical behavior.
“We’ve prepared a flow chart to show how many of the players are working together and have obvious conflicts in this judicial nightmare,” Landon Mack said. “They use their roles to further themselves and are intent on destroying Darren Mack, our mother, myself, and the Mack family financially (and) spiritually, all in plain view of the public.”
But Special Prosecutor Christopher Lalli said he plans to call Mack’s former lawyers Scott Freeman and David Chesnoff, and his former co-prosecutor Robert Daskas to the stand to show that Mack’s guilty pleas were entered in a legal and appropriate manner.
It’s not uncommon for a person facing such long prison terms to have “buyer’s remorse” after pleading guilty, Lalli said, but in this case, it’s too late for Mack to change his mind.
Charla Mack’s mother, Soorya Townley, said in a statement that Mack’s attempt to withdraw his plea is a continuance of his lack of accountability for his actions. Read more...
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071210/NEWS18/71210029/1321/NEWS Brother
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071210/NEWS18/71210022&oaso=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews Mother
12/07/07
Hearing set in Mack case
Early today, the judge overseeing the Darren Mack murder and attempted murder case set a hearing date for Mack’s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. Mack’s lawyer and the prosecutor will argue the point on the day before his two-day sentencing hearing in January.
Judge Douglas Herndon gave Special Prosecutor Christopher Lalli until Jan. 7 to respond to the motion filed late Wednesday by Mack’s new lawyer William Routsis. And he gave Routsis until Jan. 14 to reply to Lalli’s response.
Herndon said the hearing for the argument over the motion will occur in his Las Vegas courtroom on Jan. 16. Mack’s sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 17 and 18.
Lalli declined to comment on Mack’s motion, and said he has started working on his brief. Read more...
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200771206031
11/30/07
Darren Mack has dropped his legal defense team after pleading guilty to murder and attempted murder charges, and plans to file a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, a source close to his family said Thursday.
The withdrawal motion has yet to be filed but was in the process of being crafted, the source said.
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/NEWS01/711300488/1004/NEWS
11/07/07
By Harriet Ryan
Court TV
LAS VEGAS — Darren Mack, the wealthy Reno businessman accused of killing his estranged wife and shooting their divorce judge, pleaded guilty to murder Monday, the day his lawyers were to begin presenting evidence at his trial.
Under the terms of the plea agreement with prosecutors, Mack, 46, will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years of a life sentence for the 2006 fatal stabbing of his wife, Charla.
Mack had faced a potential sentence of life in prison without parole if jurors, who had been hearing evidence for a week and a half, convicted him.
District Court Judge Douglas Herndon will sentence Mack Jan. 17. Although the judge could impose a different sentence than the one agreed to by the parties, Herndon told Mack Monday that he does not plan to deviate from the deal.
As part of the plea, Mack also acknowledged guilt in the sniper-style attack on Judge Chuck Weller, a Washoe County family court judge who presided over the couple's $1 million divorce settlement.
With Weller seated in the front row of the courtroom, Mack pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the shooting, but continued to maintain that he wanted only to wound the judge to expose alleged misconduct. He entered an Alford plea, under which a defendant concedes there is enough evidence to convict him without admitting guilt, to the part of the attempted murder charge requiring an intent to kill.
He faces two to 20 years in prison on that charge at the January sentencing.
The case was moved to Las Vegas because of extensive publicity in Reno.
During the trial, Mack claimed he was acting in self-defense when he killed his 39-year-old wife and was not guilty by reason of insanity two hours later when he gunned Weller down. He advanced the dual defense against the advice of his two lawyers, who told the judge before the trial began that they recommended he pursue an insanity defense for both charges.
In the prosecution's case, which ended Friday, jurors heard evidence of a "to do" list found in Mack's kitchen that included the words "end problem," a reference to the premeditated murder of Charla Mack, according to prosecutors.
Instead of beginning his defense Monday morning as scheduled, Mack caucused with his lawyers and relatives. After an hour and 15 minutes, Herndon announced that a deal had been reached.
A defense attorney, David Chesnoff, said Mack wanted to avoid putting on a defense because it would include attacks on the reputation of Charla Mack.
"That was a major consideration," Chesnoff said.
The couple have a 9-year-old daughter, Erika, who lives with her maternal grandmother.
The child was not in court for the plea, but Mack's two teenage children from a previous marriage were, as were his mother, brother, grandmother and girlfriend.