LAS VEGAS – The Latest on a guilty plea in Las Vegas by a man who admits trying to kill a mannequin that police posed as a sleeping homeless person (all times local):
11:45 a.m.
A man facing eight to 20 years in a Nevada state prison after pleading guilty to trying to kill a mannequin that police posed as a sleeping homeless person will avoid charges in three similar downtown Las Vegas attacks.
Shane Allen Schindler admitted Tuesday that he thought he was attacking a human when he used a heavy hammer to whack the blanket-covered head of the dummy early Feb. 22.
The attack was caught on video and Schindler was arrested by police staked out in the area following fatal attacks Jan. 4 and Feb. 3 on two men who police say were apparently sleeping when they died.
Schindler's plea agreement means he also will not be charged in a Nov. 30 attack on a homeless man who escaped with head injuries.
Schindler's court-appointed lawyer, Ashley Sisolak, says the plea deal was in his best interest.
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8:45 a.m.
A Nevada man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder in an unusual case where he is accused of trying to kill a mannequin that was staged as a homeless person.
Police posed the mannequin near the scene of where two homeless people previously had been beat to death with a hammer.
Soon after, the top suspect in the two killings, 30-year-old Shane Schindler, was caught on camera bashing the mannequin with a hammer.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Tuesday that prosecutors dropped charges against Schindler in three other cases as part of his guilty plea.
Schindler is expected to receive a sentence of eight to 20 years in prison.
Schindler's attorney, Ashley Sisolak, says he is happy with the deal prosecutors were able to work out.
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