Craig Titus & Kelly Ryan Investigation

Looks like Craig will have to wait a bit longer to find out his fate in this matter. The following is from the Associated Press:

LAS VEGAS—Former bodybuilding champion Craig Titus wants a Nevada judge to cut four years from his prison sentence or let him go to trial in the slaying of his personal assistant in December 2005.

Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass on Tuesday postponed a hearing on the matter until Nov. 18 because authorities didn’t transport Titus from prison to court.

Titus, 43, claims in court documents that he was promised a 17-to-55-year sentence for pleading guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree arson in the slaying of Melissa James.

Glass imposed a 21-to-55-year sentence Aug. 22, prompting protests from Titus’ lawyer, Marc Saggese, that he was “blindsided.” The stiffer sentence pushed back Titus’ parole eligibility by four years.

Titus’ wife, Kelly Ryan, was sentenced to an agreed-upon six to 26 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to charges of arson and battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm.

Judges are not bound at sentencing by plea agreements. But Saggese said in court documents that Glass made a 17-year assurance “a matter of fact,” to break a stalemate in pretrial negotiations between him and county prosecutors.

Saggese said Titus relied on the 17 year sentence when he took the plea deal and avoided trial.

Prosecutors alleged James, 28, was beaten, drugged, shocked with a Taser, choked and bound with duct tape before her charred body was found in the back of Ryan’s burned-out Jaguar sedan in the desert outside Las Vegas in December 2005.

Titus said at his sentencing hearing that he accidentally killed James during a drug-fueled fight.

Titus is a 1996 bodybuilding champion and Mr. Olympia competitor. Ryan is a past Fitness America and Fitness International winner.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 4:22 pm and is filed under NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.