Facts of the Crime:
On March 31, 2004, a jury sentenced Alfonso "Slinkey" Blake to death for the 2003 murders of Sophear Choy and Priscilla Van Dine.
Facts of the Crime:
On March 31, 2004, a jury sentenced Alfonso "Slinkey" Blake to death for the 2003 murders of Sophear Choy and Priscilla Van Dine.
April 1, 2004
Blake gets death
Jury sentences aspiring hip-hop artist in 2003 double murder in Las Vegas Valley
By GLENN PUIT
THE LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
A jury sentenced Alfonso "Slinkey" Blake to death Wednesday in a decision described as sweet justice by the families of Blake's two murder victims.
"Karma is finally paying him back," said Kim Choy, whose 19-year-old sister, Sophear, was shot execution-style by Blake last year.
Melissa Van Dine-Dahl, whose 19-year-old sister, Priscilla, also was slain by Blake, said she looked directly at her sister's killer when the death sentence was issued in the courtroom of District Judge Sally Loehrer.
"I just wanted to look at him and say, `See? You get what you deserve,' " Melissa Van Dine-Dahl said.
Blake, 33, appeared to be fighting back his emotions as a court clerk read the sentence: one death sentence for Sophear Choy's murder and another for Priscilla Van Dine's.
Upon hearing the sentence, two unidentified female supporters of Blake got up and walked out of the courtroom in tears. Blake's loved ones later appeared in a state of shock in a courthouse hallway.
"I feel bad for his mom mainly," said Van Dine's mother, Mel Van Dine.
"Being a mom, I know the loss of a child," Mel Van Dine said. "But when I think about how he murdered my daughter, I'm happy for what he got. He deserved it."
Blake's defense attorney, Peter S. Christiansen, declined comment on the sentence. Jurors also declined comment on the sentence through a court spokesman.
"They were comfortable with their decision," said Clark County prosecutor Robert Daskas, who spoke with jurors.
Their sentence caps a high-profile criminal case dating back to March 5, 2003, when Blake escorted the two murder victims and Kim Choy into the desert near Interstate 215 and Decatur Boulevard in southwest Las Vegas. He ordered the women to their knees and shot each in the head multiple times.
Kim Choy, now 24, miraculously survived two bullets to the head and was able to identify Blake as her attacker. Authorities said Blake shot the women because they refused to move into his home.
Prosecutors said that Blake, an aspiring hip-hop artist, invited strippers to live in his home, then lived off their earnings. At the time of the slayings, Blake already had three other topless dancers living at his residence who were required to give him all the money they made at local clubs.
Blake has a prior conviction for living off the earnings of a prostitute, a misdemeanor, as well as a prior felony conviction stemming from the possession of a fraudulent passport.
Authorities also said Blake shot the women shortly after he stabbed Sophear Choy during an argument. Prosecutors said Blake probably committed the murders in an attempt to eliminate witnesses to the stabbing.
The jury convicted Blake of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder last week.
In court Tuesday, Blake offered an emotional apology for his crimes.
"If I could turn back time, there would be no pain here today," Blake said. "None whatsoever.
"If I had the power to give the remedy ... I would give it," he said. "I'll be praying to God that the good Lord can somehow ease the pain."
The jury was then asked to decide between a death sentence and life in prison without parole. They deliberated for about four hours over a two-day span before the verdict was returned late Wednesday morning.
Kim Choy said she will never forget the horrors of witnessing her sister's murder.
"My sister suffered," Kim Choy said. "She died in my arms, and she was the only sister I had. I can never get over it."
Of Blake's guilty verdict and death sentence, Kim Choy said:
"I finally saw the doors of heaven open up. They (the victims) are finally resting in peace now."
Under Nevada law, Blake's death sentence automatically will be appealed.
Priscilla Van Dine's father, Donald, said if Blake is truly sorry, he will waive his appeals and agree to be executed.
"Step up to the plate and say `Hey, I committed murder,' " Donald Van Dine said. " `I executed two women ... and I got caught, so put me to death. Let's put this to rest.' "
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_ho.../23564689.html
On March 9, 2012, Blake filed an appeal in the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals over the partial denial of his habeas petition in Federal District Court.
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cir.../ca9/12-15522/
On March 14, 2014, the Ninth Circuit remanded Blake's case to Federal District Court pending the exhaustion of state remedies.
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal...522/9025852178
Nevada Supreme Court rejects appeals in 3 death-penalty cases
By Cy Ryan
The Las Vegas Sun
CARSON CITY — Three killers on death row, two from Clark County, have lost their appeals to the Nevada Supreme Court.
The court, in a 5-2 decision by Chief Justice Mark Gibbons, rejected the appeal of Alfonso M. Blake, who fatally shot two women and wounded another in the desert outside of Las Vegas in March 2003.
Blake fled to Los Angeles but was later arrested.
In his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, Blake claimed his attorneys at trial and in his first appeal were ineffective. He offered an insanity defense at trial, a claim the court rejected.
Justices Michael Cherry and Nancy Saitta dissented and said Blake “presented substantial and compelling new mitigating evidence showing that his childhood was disturbingly dysfunctional and abusive.” They said Blake’s prior attorney should have raised this issue.
In a separate ruling, the court unanimously denied the fifth appeal of Samuel Howard, sentenced to death for the March 1980 fatal shooting of Dr. George Monahan in Las Vegas.
Howard maintained his attorneys were ineffective in his past appeals.
The court also rejected the latest appeal of Avram V. Nika, sentenced to death for the 1994 fatal shooting of Edward Smith, who had stopped to assist Nika on the freeway 20 miles outside of Reno.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2014...3-death-penal/
In today's orders, the US Supreme Court DENIED the State of Nevada's certiorari petition.
Lower Ct: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Case Nos.: (12-15522)
Decision Date: March 14, 2014
http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.a...es\13-1488.htm
On March 13, 2023, Blake filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/ci...s/ca9/23-99001
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