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Deaf habitual criminal sentenced to life in prison after Reno sexual attack | Reno Gazette-Journal | rgj.com
A habitual criminal was sentenced to a life in prison term Tuesday related to grabbing a woman off the street and beating her in a sexually-motivated attack in an elevator.
Larry Louis Sykes, known as “Deaf Larry” because he cannot hear, had pleaded guilty to the Dec. 22 battery with intent to commit sexual assault of a 47-year-old woman he did not know. Washoe District Judge Connie Steinheimer sentenced Sykes to a life in prison term. He will be eligible for parole in two years.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristin Erickson said she is enclosing pictures of the battery victim to go with Sykes’ file so that the parole board will likely deny his release.
This was Sykes’ sixth felony conviction, Erickson said, which ranges from drug sales, grand larceny and robbery with a deadly weapon. At the time of his arrest, he was being monitored by the Northern Nevada Repeat Offender Program. The detectives track habitual criminals.
Erickson said Sykes grabbed the woman about 2:45 a.m., Dec. 22 as she walked on South Virginia Street. He did not know her. He then pushed her into the elevator of a nearby apartment building. She was kicked repeatedly in the head and lost consciousness multiple times. The woman was also kicked in the side and body. Sykes then pulled down her pants in an attempt to sexually assault her, authorities said.
Erickson said the victim’s screams were heard by a couple who were walking by. The male witness was a security guard at a downtown Reno casino and recognized the attacker as “Deaf Larry” because the guard had previously banned him from the business, Erickson said.
Police then began looking for “Deaf Larry,” ultimately capturing him at the Peppermill Hotel, Spa and Casino.
Through a sign language interpreter, Sykes claimed during his sentencing that he battered the woman after she refused to have sex with him after he paid her $40. Erickson dismissed his claim and said there was no evidence behind it.
A habitual criminal was sentenced to a life in prison term Tuesday related to grabbing a woman off the street and beating her in a sexually-motivated attack in an elevator.
Larry Louis Sykes, known as “Deaf Larry” because he cannot hear, had pleaded guilty to the Dec. 22 battery with intent to commit sexual assault of a 47-year-old woman he did not know. Washoe District Judge Connie Steinheimer sentenced Sykes to a life in prison term. He will be eligible for parole in two years.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristin Erickson said she is enclosing pictures of the battery victim to go with Sykes’ file so that the parole board will likely deny his release.
This was Sykes’ sixth felony conviction, Erickson said, which ranges from drug sales, grand larceny and robbery with a deadly weapon. At the time of his arrest, he was being monitored by the Northern Nevada Repeat Offender Program. The detectives track habitual criminals.
Erickson said Sykes grabbed the woman about 2:45 a.m., Dec. 22 as she walked on South Virginia Street. He did not know her. He then pushed her into the elevator of a nearby apartment building. She was kicked repeatedly in the head and lost consciousness multiple times. The woman was also kicked in the side and body. Sykes then pulled down her pants in an attempt to sexually assault her, authorities said.
Erickson said the victim’s screams were heard by a couple who were walking by. The male witness was a security guard at a downtown Reno casino and recognized the attacker as “Deaf Larry” because the guard had previously banned him from the business, Erickson said.
Police then began looking for “Deaf Larry,” ultimately capturing him at the Peppermill Hotel, Spa and Casino.
Through a sign language interpreter, Sykes claimed during his sentencing that he battered the woman after she refused to have sex with him after he paid her $40. Erickson dismissed his claim and said there was no evidence behind it.
