Christopher Weygant, age 32, pleaded no contest to battery with use of a deadly weapon in connection to the April 2018 death of Bailey Beck. The prosecutors agreed to a two to seven year sentence behind bars. Prominent Las Vegas criminal defense lawyers say this is a unique situation.
His punishment could have been as long as life in prison without the possibility of parole if Weygant had been charged with and found guilty of a greater crime than “battery with the use of a deadly weapon.” So how were his charges so drastically reduced from the original murder he was suspected of committing?
Defendant Entered an Alford Plea
Weygant’s plea was entered through what is known as the Alford decision, which means Weygant admitted only that prosecutors had enough evidence to prove the charge to a jury. Because Weygant’s plea was for a much less serious charge than initially anticipated, the District Judge Valerie Adair reduced his bail to a mere $3,000 and set his sentencing hearing for November.
Defense attorney, Abel Yanez, shared that Weygant would be a “free man” within a year of serving his sentence because he would be given credit for the time he already spent behind bars since being charged.
Weygant continues to claim he is 100% innocent and had nothing to do with the death of Bailey Kay Beck.
Who Was Bailey Kay Beck, the Victim of This Crime?
Members of a local gang believed that Bailey Kay Beck was a “snitch,” a betrayal that was often punished by death.
Beck, age 30, was, indeed, recruited by Metro as a Metro Police informant after she was arrested in March of 2018 for transporting drugs. As a drug runner for an Asian criminal organization and a white supremacist gang, Metro knew that Beck was privy to useful insider information. After agreeing to be an informant, Beck took Metro officers around the Las Vegas valley and showed them locations they could find drugs or people affiliated with drugs. This continued for three days, starting on April 2, 2018.
Shortly after that, Beck attended a party in which the gang (including Weygant) was present. One of the gang members informed Beck that her life might be in danger. Beck reported that information to her Metro handler, a narcotics detective, while also adding that she wasn’t sure whether or not the warning was real.
Victim Was Murdered Shortly After Becoming and Informant
At a house party shortly after that, Weygant injected Beck with what’s known as a “hot shot” of heroin and methamphetamine, meant to either harm or kill her. Beck dragged herself downstairs and locked herself into a garage for two days before she was eventually found and taken to Spring Valley Medical Center. There, she succumbed her injuries and died.
Along with the drugs in her system, Beck also had a head injury, and that “blunt force trauma” was recorded as her official cause of death.
Those involved with Weygant’s trial claim, “there’s no doubt [Weygant] stuck her with the needle; the real question is whether that sticking with the needle ultimately resulted in her death.”