Jury doesn't hold son responsible for mother's actions

Before taking the case to trial, Widney argued her client should be tried separately from his mother, as the evidence against the mother was substantially worse than the evidence against the son. It was clear that the mother instigated the incident and her son should not be judged for the outrageous conduct of his mother, Widney argued.

A Clark County Superior Court judge denied Widney’s motion for separate trials. Mother and son went to trial together in late June. While the mother was convicted on all counts, her son was found not guilty of assault and harassment.

As for the robbery charge, the 12-member jury couldn’t reach a unanimous decision on whether to convict or acquit the son.

Rather than retry Widney’s client on the robbery charge, a Clark County deputy prosecutor amended the robbery charge to malicious mischief in the third degree domestic violence and disorderly conduct DV.

Her client pleaded guilty to the charges, both misdemeanors, this month.

So instead of spending years in prison, Widney’s client was given credit for time served, which was the one day he’d spent in custody following his arrest. He was ordered to take an anger management class and be on probation for two years.