Man receives 40 years to life in 2003 murder

A 33-year-old man convicted of murdering 32-year-old Miguel Ortega was sentenced on Friday to 40 years to life in prison.

District Judge James Bixler imposed the sentence on Armando Ramirez, who was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury in February.

His co-defendant, Alejandro Alix Manzo, 30, received the same sentence last week.

Prosecutors argued during trial the pair met the victim at a Sahara Avenue casino the morning of July 14, 2003. They went to a nearby apartment, where the three men had a fight about stolen guns. They walked out of the apartment, in the 700 block of East Sahara Avenue, where Ortega was shot.

Police found two different types of bullets in Ortega's body.

Ramirez is currently serving 14 months to two years for previous convictions related to trafficking, car theft and removing the serial number of a firearm. The murder sentence will run concurrent with the penalty he's currently serving.

Ramirez's defense attorney, Clark County Deputy Special Public Defender, Clark Patrick, argued for a life sentence with the opportunity for parole and said he believed his client was less culpable than Manzo, whom witnesses described as the shooter.

"Nobody saw him (Ramirez) shoot. Nobody saw him with a gun," Patrick said.