The extradition hearing lasted only about five minutes, and the suspects were never inside the courtroom. It was all done through closed-circuit television.
It was the first look at the alleged triggerman, 31-year-old Ka Pasasouk of Los Angeles, in the quadruple-murder case.
Pasasouk, Howard Alcantara, 30, Donna Rabulan, 30, and Christina Neal, 33, were arrested at the Silverton Casino Hotel in Las Vegas on Monday.
The suspects agreed to be extradited back to California to face charges. Pasasouk faces a charge of murder; Alcantra faces robbery and aiding a felon charges; and Neal and Rabulan each face a charge of aiding a felon.
While the motive behind the shooting remains unclear, sources say it was a dispute over property, perhaps a laptop computer.
Pasasouk is an ex-convict with a lengthy criminal record. Court records show he was released from prison in January and placed on probation after a 2010 conviction, but he missed an appointment with his probation officer in February.
"He had a history that suggested that he did pose a threat to the safety and security of the community," said Probation Department Deputy Chief Reaver Bingham.
The probation department began the process of requesting a bench warrant. Meanwhile, he was arrested again in September for drug possession and sentenced to formal probation, even though probation officials say they asked for re-incarceration.
"We deemed him as unsuitable for ongoing community supervision. We recommended that probation be denied and he be sent to state prison," Bingham said.
A judge intervened to give Pasasouk another chance under Prop 36, a voter-approved measure to provide counseling to drug abusers. But there were more violations, including a domestic dispute and more bench warrants. The last one was being prepared on Dec. 1, the day before Pasasouk allegedly gunned down four people outside an unlicensed boarding house.
It was earlier reported that he would have still been behind bars if not for California's prison realignment act, but Bingham says Pasasouk had completed enough time to qualify for release based on time served and credit for work time and good behavior.
Public defender David Schieck says he had about a half-hour conversation with Pasasouk in jail, but said he would not disclose any details. In court on Thursday, Schieck invoked Pasasouk's Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights because he says it's likely that police are going to try to get a confession out of him on the way back to L.A.
"It's just to make sure his rights are protected during the transport and during these proceedings," Schieck said.
There is no exact date on when the suspects will be brought back to Los Angeles, but according to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, it should be by the end of the week.
