Zane Floyd

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Zane Floyd
Born
Zane Michael Floyd

(1975-09-20) September 20, 1975 (age 46)[1]
Nevada, U.S.
EducationFaith Lutheran Middle School & High School
Conviction(s)First degree murder with a deadly weapon (4 counts)
Attempted murder with a deadly weapon
First degree kidnapping with a deadly weapon
Sexual assault with a deadly weapon (4 counts)
Burglary while in possession of a firearm
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
DateJune 3, 1999
Location(s)Las Vegas, Nevada
Killed4
Injured1
WeaponsMossberg 500 Cruiser 12-gauge 8-shot pump-action shotgun[2]
Imprisoned atEly State Prison

Zane Michael Floyd (born September 20, 1975)[1] is a convicted mass murderer who killed four people and injured another in a supermarket in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on June 3, 1999. After pleading guilty to the murders, Floyd was sentenced to death by a Clark County jury.

Background[]

After attending high school, Floyd enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was honorably discharged, but was told that he was not welcome to re-enlist because of his heavy drinking.[3] Before the shooting that led to his conviction, he worked as a security guard and part-time as a bouncer at a bar.[4]

The massacre[]

On June 3, 1999, at approximately 5:15 in the morning, Floyd entered an Albertson's supermarket located at 3864 West Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas and opened fire on random individuals in the store using a shotgun.[5]

Floyd first shot 40-year-old worker Thomas Darnell in the back, killing him.[5] Immediately after, he also killed 41-year-old store manager Carlos Chuck Leos and 31-year-old worker Dennis Troy Sargent.[5] Floyd then encountered 23-year-old worker Zachary T. Emenegger, who fled from Floyd when he saw the gunman pointing the shotgun in his direction,[5] beginning a sequence of near death encounters with the gunman. Diving under a produce table, Emenegger avoided Floyd's gunfire for 15 seconds, but ultimately was shot in the upper-chest region resulting in a punctured lung. Floyd then saw Emenegger move and shot him again. Emenegger then played dead. Believing his victim was dead, Floyd whispered, "Yeah, you're dead," and proceeded to continue searching the store. Eventually, Floyd discovered 60-year-old clerk Lucille Alice Tarantino in the rear of the store and fatally shot her in the head at point-blank range. Thinking that Floyd was gone, Emenegger attempted to get up and go for help but collapsed back onto the ground. Floyd initially walked past Emenegger's motionless body and started to leave the store but abruptly stopped, and doubled back to once again ensure Emenegger was dead. After watching for a moment, Floyd finally fled from the store. In total, Floyd had shot seven shotgun shells in seven minutes, killing four people and critically wounding Emenegger.

It later emerged that shortly before the shooting, Floyd had telephoned an escort agency and called for the services of a young woman at his apartment.[5][6] When a 20-year-old woman arrived at the apartment at around 3:30 a.m., Floyd threatened her with a shotgun and raped her. He eventually told her she had 60 seconds to run or be killed. After she escaped, Floyd took his shotgun and at around 5:00 am began to walk to the supermarket.[5]

Arrest[]

Floyd left through the supermarket's north doors to meet the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, who had been called by an employee who had been upstairs and believed there was a robbery in progress.[7] Without exchanging any gunfire, Floyd ran back into the supermarket and left through the west doors, hoping to avoid the police outside. When he noticed that the complex was surrounded by officers, Floyd threatened to kill himself, pointing the shotgun to his head. After an eight-minute standoff, police convinced him to surrender. They immediately arrested him on charges of murder.

When questioned by police, Floyd confessed to the killings and said that he committed the murders because he had always wanted to know what it was like to kill someone.[8]

Trial[]

Jurors at Floyd’s trial heard his confession and watched the video from store surveillance cameras.[8] Floyd did not testify at the three-day trial, where Emenegger testified against him.[9] On July 13, 2000, after deliberating for little more than two hours,[9] the jury convicted him of four counts of first degree murder with use of a deadly weapon, four counts of sexual assault with use of a deadly weapon, and single counts of burglary while in possession of a firearm, attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon, and first degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon.[10][11]

The jury rendered a sentence of death for each count of murder, finding that the aggravating circumstances outweighed any mitigating circumstances.[11] For the other seven offenses, the district court imposed the maximum terms in prison, to be served consecutively.[11] The court also ordered restitution totaling more than 180,000 dollars.[11]

Appeals[]

Floyd filed a direct appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, which affirmed his conviction and sentence in March 2002.[12] In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari.[13] Floyd subsequently filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the state district court. The petition was denied and the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the denial on appeal.[14]

Floyd then pursued a pro se habeas petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, challenging his conviction and death sentence. The court stayed federal proceedings pending exhaustion of certain claims in state court, prompting Floyd to file a second state habeas petition in state district court. The state district court denied relief in April 2009. The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Floyd's second petition was untimely and successive.[15] The U.S. District Court then lifted the stay in March 2011. Floyd filed a second amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus. In December 2014, the U.S. District Court granted in part the State's motion to dismiss and denied Floyd's remaining claims on the merits; however, it issued a certificate of appealability as to several issues.[16]

Consequently, Floyd lodged an appeal in the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In October 2019, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Floyd's habeas petition.[17] Floyd's ensuing petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc was denied.[18] In July 2020, he filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging the Ninth Circuit's application of the Strickland standard.[19] That petition was denied in November 2020.[20]

Scheduled execution[]

In April 2021, Floyd challenged Nevada's use of lethal injection, arguing that it is cruel and unusual and that, if he is to be put to death, he would prefer the use of a firing squad.[21] Floyd was scheduled to be executed on July 26, 2021, via lethal injection.[22] However, a federal judge stayed the execution, and ruled that the state needed more time to determine the constitutionality of the lethal injection drugs that would be used for Floyd's execution.[23][24] If executed, Floyd would have been the first person to be executed in Nevada in over fifteen years, since Daryl Mack was executed in 2006.[25][26][27] Floyd's execution was once again stayed by Nevada U.S. District Court Judge Richard Boulware II on February 14, 2022, when Nevada chief deputy Attorney General Randall Gilmer told the court that Clark County prosecutors had not obtained the federal death warrant needed in time to carry out the execution by February 28, when the states current supply of ketamine, one of four drugs used in lethal injections in Nevada, expires.[28]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Nevada Offender Tracking Information System". doc.nv.gov. September 20, 1975. Retrieved February 16, 2011.[dead link]
  2. ^ Rainey, James; Boxall, Bettina (June 4, 1999). "Man Kills 4 in Shotgun Rampage". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  3. ^ "Suspect details grisly fantasies". Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 8, 2000. Archived from the original on August 31, 2003. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  4. ^ Macy, Robert (June 3, 1999). "Supermarket rampage leaves four dead, one critical". The Associated Press.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Floyd v. State, 118 Nev. 156, 42 P.3d 249, at 253 (2002) (per curiam).
  6. ^ Macy, Robert (June 6, 1999). "Alleged supermarket shooter suspected of raping escort service employee". The Associated Press State & Local Wire.
  7. ^ MSNBC show "Caught on Camera"
  8. ^ a b Snedeker, Lisa (August 31, 2000). "Judge sentences killer to death in supermarket shootings". The Associated Press State & Local Wire.
  9. ^ a b Wagner, Angie (July 13, 2000). "Former Marine guilty of grocery store killings". The Associated Press State & Local Wire.
  10. ^ "Jurors decide Floyd must pay with his life". Las Vegas Review-Journal. July 22, 2000. Archived from the original on July 8, 2003. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d See Floyd v. State, 118 Nev. 156, 42 P.3d 249, at 254 (2002) (per curiam).
  12. ^ Floyd v. State, 118 Nev. 156, 42 P.3d 249 (2002) (per curiam).
  13. ^ Floyd v. Nevada, 537 U.S. 1196 (2003) (denying certiorari).
  14. ^ Floyd v. State, 122 Nev. 1673, 178 P.3d 754 (2006).
  15. ^ Floyd v. State, 126 Nev. 711, 367 P.3d 769 (2010).
  16. ^ Floyd v. Baker, 2014 WL 7240069 (D. Nev. 2014).
  17. ^ Floyd v. Filson, 940 F.3d 1082 (9th Cir. 2019), opinion amended on denial of rehearing, 949 F.3d 1128 (9th Cir. 2020).
  18. ^ Floyd v. Filson, 949 F.3d 1128 (9th Cir. 2020).
  19. ^ Floyd v. Gittere, Warden, et al., No. 19-8921.
  20. ^ Floyd v. Gittere, Warden, et al., 590 U.S. ___ (2020) (denying certiorari).
  21. ^ Ritter, Ken (April 20, 2021). "Nevada inmate fighting execution seeks firing-squad option". The Associated Press State & Local Wire.
  22. ^ Ferrara, David (June 7, 2021). "Judge agrees to issue order for Zane Floyd to be executed in July". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  23. ^ "First proposed Nevada execution in 15 years blocked by federal judge". KRNV-DT. June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  24. ^ Ferrara, David (June 28, 2021). "Judge issues stay of execution for quadruple killer Zane Floyd". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  25. ^ Butler, Jada (April 20, 2021). "Nevada death row inmate asks to be killed by firing squad". The Guardian. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  26. ^ "Nevada death row inmate asks to be executed by firing squad rather than lethal injection". Sky News. April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  27. ^ "Possible Nevada execution date being pushed to late July". AP NEWS. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  28. ^ "Nevada's First Execution in Nearly 16 Years on Hold Again". U.S. News and World Report. February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
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