They Go Really Bad.
Nevada residential real estate appraiser Kumbi Salim (formerly known as Stanley Price) was sentenced two weeks ago to 25 to 40 years in prison for the murder of Martin Brown, an MSU student murdered in 1973. The prosecutor characterized the stabbing as a racially motivated hate crime. Brown was randomly chosen as the victim. Brown was white. Salim and Mason (the co-defendant) are black. The judge agreed saying, “the issue of racial hatred will not go away any time soon”.
In his defense, Salim denied being racist. He said "Michigan State University gave me an opportunity and a full scholarship” and "White people did that for me. I don't hate white people."
Salim's attorney asked the judge to impose a lesser sentence than the 25 to 40 year maximum saying “My client has always maintained he was not involved in this incident in any way. There is a very high likelihood the jury's verdict was not accurate." And [a sentence of not less than 25 years] would be basically a death sentence." The judge did not disagree with the jury’s verdict.
Salim said to the family of the victim, "Whatever you think I have done, I ask you to find forgiveness."
Rhonda Day, who was 13 in 1973 when her brother was killed, wrote in a statement, "My Christian God tells me to forgive you [but] I can't."
Hugh Leach reported this story in the August 16, 2007 edition of the Lansing State Journal.
Until his extradition, Kumbi Salim operated a Henderson residential real estate appraisal business which provided appraisals of houses in Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City and other areas of Clark County and Southern Nevada.
This blog entry is part of a series on Bad Las Vegas Appraisers by Appraisers of Las Vegas.com.
