20,000 Sign Petition on Casino Slaying

Organizers of a petition drive that asks prosecutors to charge a young man who kept silent about the killing of a 7-year-old Los Angeles girl in a Nevada casino said Friday that they have collected about 20,000 signatures, more than double their goal.

“With this particular crime, everyone is outraged,” said Najee Ali, a Muslim clergyman who led the effort on behalf of Yolanda Manuel, the mother of victim Sherrice Iverson.

Police say the girl was molested and murdered in a casino bathroom in May 1997. Her alleged killer, Jeremy Strohmeyer of Long Beach, reportedly confessed to his friend David Cash, 20, who told The Times that he saw the pair struggling in a stall but left the restroom after failing to divert Strohmeyer.

Cash has become the subject of intense public criticism over this failure to act and his refusal to turn Strohmeyer in because he “didn’t want to be the person who takes away his last day, his last night of freedom.”

Strohmeyer, who has pleaded not guilty, is scheduled to go on trial in Las Vegas at the end of this month. He faces a possible death sentence if convicted. No charges have been filed against Cash, who is preparing to begin his second year at UC Berkeley next week.

Because Nevada has no applicable law under which to punish Cash, the campaign against him is evolving into a broader effort.

Ali and other organizers announced Friday a second petition drive urging Nevada lawmakers to adopt a “good Samaritan” law, requiring people who witness a sexual attack on a minor to report it. They hope to collect up to 100,000 signatures.

“We will not rest until justice is done,” said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a petition organizer and a supporter of Manuel.

He said France and England have “good Samaritan” laws that require people to come to the aid of others.

Hutchinson said he will try to talk to the region’s congressional representatives about pushing for a federal version of the law.

Nevada prosecutors say there is no current law that requires witnesses to crimes to report them to police, making it impossible to prosecute Cash. They also note that new laws cannot be enforced retroactively.

Manuel, a school cafeteria worker, said she hopes that the two campaigns will encourage people who see crimes against children to come forward. “Let’s do something about this injustice,” she said at a news conference Friday. “Let’s stop these killings.”

Ali, the director of Project Islamic HOPE, said the petition to seek charges against Cash was circulated at places of worship.

“This shows that Christians, Muslims and Jews and all races can work together,” he said.

He said supporters from around the country also downloaded and signed the petition from a site on the World Wide Web.

Among the remarks in The Times’ July 19 article that have made Cash a center of attention were his expressions of sympathy for Strohmeyer, the absence of feeling he indicated for Sherrice and his lack of regret about not reporting the crime.

If anything, Cash told The Times, the notoriety had already helped him get dates.

“I’m not going to get upset over someone else’s life,” he said. “I just worry about myself first. I’m not going to lose sleep over somebody else’s problems.”

Cash’s comments prompted the radio duo of Tim Conway Jr. and Doug Steckler on KLSX-FM (97.1) to organize a bus trip to UC Berkeley next Tuesday to pressure university officials to expel Cash.

Manuel and Ali said they plan to join demonstrators on the trip. The rally is scheduled for noon Wednesday on campus.

In recent weeks, Cash has expressed indifference to the drive to oust him.

A third campaign--this one to raise money to help pay for Manuel’s travel expenses so she can attend Strohmeyer’s trial--has been less successful. Organizers of the Sherrice Iverson Justice Fund had hoped to collect $10,000 but obtained only $2,000.

Despite the funding shortfall, Ali remains optimistic, saying he will continue to raise money for the fund up to and beyond the trial’s start.

According to police and grand jury testimony, Strohmeyer molested and strangled Sherrice in a toilet stall in the Primadonna casino, 40 miles outside Las Vegas, after the two played hide and seek.

Cash said that he left the bathroom before the molestation but that Strohmeyer confessed to the killing on the way out of the casino. Cash finally told his father about the murder after Strohmeyer’s photo appeared on TV.