1 admits guilt as ‘Serial Shooter’

DENVER —  One of two men charged in a series of random slayings that terrorized the Phoenix area in 2005 and 2006 pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree murder.

The move does not guarantee that Samuel Dieteman, 32, will be spared a death sentence, which prosecutors said they still intend to pursue.

However, Dieteman’s agreement to testify against his alleged partner, Dale Hausner, will be taken into account when a jury considers his penalty.

If the jury decides against execution, Dieteman will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“One could construe this as him throwing himself on the mercy of the court,” Maricopa County Atty. Andrew P. Thomas said at a news conference.

“It’s not an unreasonable strategy to take under these circumstances.”

Dieteman’s fate won’t be decided until after Hausner’s trial, which is scheduled for early September. Hausner, 34, faces seven murder counts.

Authorities say the two Mesa, Ariz., men stalked the Phoenix area during a 14-month period, killing seven people and shooting 17 more in what the two allegedly termed “random recreational violence.” Authorities say the pair also killed several animals.

In the so-called Serial Shooter incidents, pedestrians, bicyclists and others were shot at from a sedan cruising past.

The first victim was a 56-year-old man killed while sleeping at a bus stop in May 2005; the final victim tied to the case was Robin Blasnek, 22, who was slain July 30, 2006, while walking to her boyfriend’s house.

The roommates were arrested after an acquaintance called police with a tip that Dieteman had bragged that he and Hausner would go out and shoot at people late at night.

Hausner was a boxing photographer and announcer in Phoenix who also worked as a janitor at the Phoenix airport. Dieteman was an electrician with a criminal record that included shoplifting and drunk driving.

Dieteman’s pledge to testify has “significantly strengthened the case” against Hausner, Thomas said. The acquaintance who turned them in died this year -- a setback for the prosecution.

As part of the plea deal, according to the Associated Press, Dieteman admitted to killing Claudia Gutierrez- Cruz, 20, in Scottsdale, Ariz., on May 2, 2006, as she walked home from a bus stop, and to assisting in the shooting of Blasnek.

Dieteman also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors agreed to drop 50 criminal counts, including arson and attempted murder.

“Today is a great day for justice in Arizona,” Thomas said, noting that all three suspects believed to be serial killers who haunted Phoenix in recent years are behind bars.

He was referring not only to Dieteman and Hausner, but also to Mark Goudeau, believed to be the so-called Baseline Killer.

“As of today, two of them will never again walk the streets, the third is facing a trial in September, and all three of them still face the death penalty. I call that justice,” Thomas said.

Arrested soon after Dieteman and Hausner, Goudeau was convicted of sexually assaulting two sisters and sentenced to 438 years in prison.

He faces trial on charges that include nine murder counts.

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deedee.correll@latimes.com