Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • 5

Albuquerque Journal Tuesday, July 22, 2003 A5 Probation in 902 Sex Case Got from PAGE A1 the sentence is going to work, but this is a judge's worst nightmare come true." Reduced sentence Akers pleaded guilty before Sanchez in March 2002 to sexually abusing the 4-year-old. He could have been sentenced to up to 33 years in prison, but Sanchez said several factors, including the family's wishes and the recommendations of psychologists, led him to sus-, pend the prison term. Sanchez released Akers back into society, sentencing him to five years of supervised probation. A pre-sentence report by the probation department recommended Akers be sentenced to five years in prison, Sanchez was arrested on forgery, pos-session of drug paraphernalia and criminal damage to property charges, Sanchez said. None of the crimes is considered violent in nature, he said.

As part of his probation on the sexual assault, Akers was ordered to complete a sex-offender treatment program and undergo counseling. He also was ordered to register as a sex offender, have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 and not consume any alcohol or drugs. 'Not fortune-tellers' District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said prosecutors accepted a plea deal that specified Akers would be sentenced to no more than 18 years in prison, but that it was up to the judge to decide. Without that cap, Akers could have been sentenced to a maximum of 33 years, she said. "We obviously are not she said, "and there wasnt a clue that this would happen." Brandenburg said that if the rcase had gone to trial, Akers "most likely would have been acquitted.

A 4-year-old victim (is not competent to) testify, and that was our case." Sanchez said Akers has a low IQ and is 'illiterate. He said those factors, coupled with the fact there were no available beds at an in-patient sex offender program in Las Vegas, were the reasons Akers was not accepted into the program. Sanchez said doctors there recommended out-patient care. Akers' family wrote to Sanchez asking that Akers be given treatment instead of prison, Sanchez said. The letters said Akers, who is 6 feet tall and weighs more than 300 pounds, was picked on as a child for his weight They said that because of Akers' low IQ, he needed help to overcome his admitted sexual problem, Sanchez said.

Akers spent 437 days in the month. She said he had one latkm in the form of a speeding ticket "We Relieve in the need to work with people so they can be rehabilitated," she said. Akers most recently was living at the "Second Chance" halfway house on Fourth NW, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said. He said deputies checked on Akers four times in the last three months because Akers was a registered sex offender. White said there are about 16 other registered sex offenders living at Second Chance.

"To think that somebody could get probation for committing an unthinkable crime against a baby shows the criminal justice system is failing miserably," White said. "This guy should not have been out on the street, and I think the criminal justice system took a real black-eye on this case." "1 feel very bad about the situation, and my heart goes out to the family of the young lady." DISTRICT JODOf ROSSSANCHIZ accepted into a program at the state mental health facility in Las Vegas, N.M. Sanchez also said counselors and psychologists had said Akers was not a danger and recommended outpatient care. Akers had no prior felony convictions. As a juvenile, he Metropolitan Court Judge Frank Sedillo ordered suspect held on a $1 million cash-only bond city-county jail before his case was disposed of and his probation began, Sanchez said.

He subsequently worked at two restaurants and then at the Sunshine. Tia Bland, spokeswoman for the probation department, said Akers had worked his way from having to report with his probation officer weekly to having to report only twice a said. He said he did not follow the recommendation because he felt treatment would be i C- -1 a i mure ocacuuai lur Alters. However, Akers was not Theater Unaware Janitor Was Registered Sex Offender 7 the ice machine is located there. But the ice machine was broken, and instead they were using bagged ice.

On Thursday, Akers was let into the building at 10 a.m. to clean in preparation for an event that night. Akers told police he used the opportunity to move Mathy-Zvaifler's body to a storage area, which he blocked with a candy and soda machine. On Monday, investigators were still awaiting the results of an autopsy to confirm the identity of the body. Private investigator Jonathan Thornton said he was hired by the missing girl's father on Thursday.

Thornton interviewed the friends who had traveled from Santa Fe to Albuquerque in a limo with Mathy-Zvaifler and other young people who were at the show and knew her. One acquaintance said that during the concert he saw Mathy-Zvaifler with a "huge, fat guy" in a black T-shirt that read "staff," Thornton said. "He indicated that this staff member had been lurking around," Thornton said. The sex-offender registry describes Akers as 6 feet tall and 380 pounds. Akers' father turned his son in to police Saturday morning, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

He told police his son had come to him with information about the missing girl. The affidavit states, "Frank Akers said the girl was 'deceased' and her body was still at the Sunshine Theater. Akers added, 'they need to do this for the girl's family' Akers remained in custody Monday night at the Metropolitan Detention Center. from PAGE A1 strangled the 16-year-old Santa Fe girl in a secluded area of the theater, according to police reports. The news came as a shock to the staff that had worked with Akers that night.

"There was no indication whatsoever," Johnson said. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Akers told police he was approached by Mathy-Zvaifler during the concert about meeting the band. He said he and the girl had a "sexual encounter in the third-level projection area, but Zvai-fler halted abruptly." Akers then "flipped out" and choked her until she was unconscious, according to the affidavit. When she woke up and started screaming, Akers "felt he had to kill her because he did not want to go back to jail," it states. In 2002, Akers pleaded guilty to charges including rape and criminal sexual 'contact of a minor.

He received probation in the case and was ordered to register as a sexual offender. Johnson said Akers had worked at the theater since Jan. 28. His job performance was unremarkable. "He showed up and did his job," Johnson said.

Johnson said that in the future, he would inquire about applicants' criminal history. Staff at the theater are horrified by the slaying, he said. "Everyone is deeply sympathetic to the friends and family of Marissa." He said that normally, staff would have gone to the projection area where Akers said he left Mathy-Zvaifler's body Wednesday night because JOSH STEPHENSONJOURNAL PREPARING CARDS: Friends of Marlssa Mathy-Zvaifler, from left, Leah Woods, Chelsey Stephens, Liz Alarld and Kal Porter write messages on cards for today's memorial service for Marlssa. Friends Have Fond Memories Chavez Wants Tougher Law Now from PAGE A1 Her life would have been amazing." Stephens said she will miss making movies with Mathy-Zvaifler. Stephens said she and Mathy-Zvaifler would act together in the movies they made with Porter.

"Anytime I was sad, she was always there," Stephens said of her friend. She was such an amazing person." Angelo Womack, a Warehouse 21 instructor, said he taught Mathy-Zvaifler in a video editing class. Womack said he never heard Mathy-Zvaifler argue with anyone or complain. "I'm shocked," Womack said. Mathy-Zvaifler would have been a senior at Santa Fe High School when classes resumed in August.

One of Mathy-Zvai-fler's former teachers, Chris Eadie, who taught her advanced-placement psychology, said he remembers her singing songs and dancing when the class was instructed to present a "creative project." "She will be sorely missed," Eadie said. "She was an incredible person." Woods said that on Saturday night, after police reported that Mathy-Zvaifler's body might have been found inside the Sunshine Theater, a group of kids went to Marissa's mother's home and "laughed and told stories" to celebrate her life. Porter added, "She was what made our nights fun. You could be and you'd have a good time with her." Stephens said that she and the group of friends who went fler went to sit together after she had cut her foot on some broken glass. "He made me uncomfortable," Porter said of the man.

Elisa Garcia broke into tears when she expressed the shock she felt over how long it took to find her friend's body. "She was lying there for three days in the last place she was seen," Garcia said. Mathy-Zvaifler trusted people, according to her friends. Woods said Mathy-Zvaifler looked at the world through "rainbow-colored glasses." "What makes it sad is she would never think anybody could do this to her," Porter said. A memorial for Mathy-Zvaifler is scheduled today at 10 a.m.

at Evergreen Lodge on Hyde Park Road in Santa Fe. in a rented limo to the Albuquerque hip-hop concert with Mathy-Zvaifler on Wednesday waited for her for about 45 minutes after the end of the show. Stephens said she knew something was wrong the next day, because her best friend hadn't called. "I knew that this was completely, completely wrong," Stephens said. "We asked so many people, and nobody saw her outside the concert." Several of the teens at Warehouse 21 expressed anger over Mathy-Zvaifler's death.

Stephens said her killer is going "to rot in hell for the rest of his life." Porter said he remembered a man hanging around him and Mathy-Zvaifler near the end of the concert Wednesday night. Porter said he and Mathy-Zvai Council in April, but it was challenged in court. District Judge Ted Baca said last month it was unconstitutional. Chavez said Monday that he hasn't decided whether to appeal in court or go to the City Council with a new proposal, but "I want to get something on the books as soon as possible. There are too many youngsters in need of protection." Jim Ludwick Mayor Martin Chavez said the arrest of a convicted sex offender in a killing at a Downtown theater underscores the need for a tough ordinance in Albuquerque.

Chavez has been fighting for an ordinance calling for sex offenders to notify employers of their past and comply with other requirements. He proposed an ordinance that was approved by the City Sunshine Theater's Appeal Is Its All-Ages Music Shows By Leanne Potts Journal Staff Writer Since the early 1990s, the Sunshine Theater has been one of the premiere places in Albuquerque to see nationally touring pop music acts. Ziggy Marley, The Strokes and Insane Clown Posse have all played shows at the 1920s theater-turned-music-club, a popular destination on the Downtown club scene because the nightclub frequently hosts all-ages shows. All-ages shows allow minors under 21 to attend events at a club, but not purchase alcohol. Such shows are popular with middle school, high school and college students because of liquor laws, couldn't get into a nightclub, or casino to see a band otherwise.

Tve been going to shows at the Sunshine since since 1994, when it was known as the Zone. "No one could plan or prepare for this." At one time, the Sunshine Theater required minors to remain on the balcony of the theater during all-ages shows. In recent years, minors have been allowed to mingle with older patrons at the club at 120 W. Central. Mathy-Zvaifler was at an all-ages performance by Minnesota hip-hop act Atmosphere at the Sunshine Theater last Wednesday night when she disappeared.

Police found an unidentified body three days later in a storage room inside the nightclub. Dominic Akers, a 22-year-old janitor at the Sunshine, has been charged with murder in connection with the teen's disappearance. The incident has shocked music fans who frequent the Sunshine. "I couldnt believe it," said 39-year-old Milton Uhuru of Albuquerque, who has been attending reggae shows at, the Sunshine for years. "It's almost like human life has become meaningless." Building's history The Sunshine Theater has had many incarnations and owners in its 79-year lifespan.

It was built in 1924 as a vaudeville house and movie theater. The 920-seat theater occupied four floors of the six-story commercial building, then one of the tallest in the city. The theater closed half a century later in 1974 when Downtown theaters had been abandoned in favor of suburban multiplexes. The Sunshine reopened briefly in the late 1970s, showing classic films. In 1980, the theater began showing Spanish-language films.

By the mid-1980s, there was talk of razing the building, but by the end of the decade the city was considering using the theater as a performing arts center. It never came to pass. In the early 1990s, the theater was purchased by a group of investors and remodeled as a dance and music club. The theater seats were replaced with a dance floor and performance stage and a cocktail lounge was built in the southwest corner of the theater. Last year, the company that owns the Sunshine Theater, Moonlight Enterprises LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Johnson said then the Sunshine had been hurt by slow ticket Sales in the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attack. Johnson, who also owns Pulse, a gay nightclub in Nob Hill, said Monday his company emerged from bankruptcy four months ago. I was 13," said Joaquin Chavez, a 16-yearold Valley High junior. "I always feel safe there." Sunshine Theater manager Vince Johnson said the club was not dangerous on the night Marissa Mathy-Zvaifler disappeared. "There were 16 security guys on that night, twice the industry standard," he said.

"One thing we always prided ourself on was we had always been a very safe facility for years," said Johnson, who has managed the Sunshine JOURNAL FILE DOWNTOWN LANDMARK: The Sunshine Theater was originally built In 1924 and has been used for several purposes since. i..