Jailed ex-politician indicted in killing of Vegas journalist
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former Las Vegas city councilman and a former state lawmaker with national political aspirations stand accused of conspiring to have their estranged son’s lover murder a journalist whose body was found in her apartment.
Police say former Councilman Paul “Bear” Bryant Jr. and former Sen. Ruben Kihuen conspired to have the girlfriend of their son, Kevin Bryant, kill reporter Kate Steinle by using an iron bar to hit her with a pole after she drove off with them in a rented van. The couple said they were going to the grocery store.
Three men who work for the couple were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, obstruction of justice, driving under the influence and endangering another person after they allegedly used the rental car to transport the ex-couple across state lines.
Kevin Bryant was arrested after she was found dead just hours after he said he went to a local grocery store.
Prosecutors said Paul Bryant Jr. is a convicted felon and has a lengthy criminal record, which includes more than 100 convictions. He pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance.
Kate Steinle’s attorneys said she was killed for her investigative reporting on police corruption in Las Vegas. They said her fiancé and his family are “shocked and bewildered by the decision” to seek the death sentence.
The case now goes to judge Terry Alatorre. He will sentence Bryant and Kihuen this week.
“I was told that my son was a good kid and a good provider when he was in jail. And my son’s story is he’s got a lot of issues,” said Paul Bryant Jr.’s older brother, Paul Bryant Sr.
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1. Bear Bryant Jr.
Paul Bryant Jr. had a troubled past. His brother said the then-18-year-old was arrested for possession of a stolen ID and spent time in juvenile detention for a weapons charge during visits to his family in Maryland.
His other sister, Nicole Bryant, told The Associated Press last year that the family had talked about his imprisonment and that her parents wondered whether he would be