Floyd murder trial delayed until July; witness to be freed

Bill Gang

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2000 | 10:59 a.m.

The murder trial of Zane Floyd over the shotgun rampage at an Albertson's market that left four people dead was postponed today until July 10 because of a series of unresolved legal issues.

Meanwhile, outcall entertainer Traci Carter, a key witness in the case, will be getting out of the Clark County Detention Center, where she has spent the last few weeks as a material witness.

Without comment, District Judge Jeff Sobel delayed the trial that had been set for March 6.

He also ordered that Carter give a videotaped deposition on Wednesday to preserve her story. She has told police she was brutally raped by Floyd in the hour before the supermarket slayings.

In her statement to police, Carter said Floyd showed her his shotgun and told her he had 19 shells and planned to kill the first 19 people he saw.

When the judge set the trial last summer -- over objections by prosecutors who wanted it held in November -- he said extraordinary circumstances would be required to warrant a delay.

"Apparently he found extraordinary circumstances," District Attorney Stewart Bell said with a note of frustration after today's court session.

Bell said Carter will be released from custody immediately after the deposition on Wednesday and will remain free as long as she contacts his office weekly. That had been the deal last year, but in November the weekly calls ceased and authorities arrested her.

Deputy District Attorney Bill Koot said that Carter's testimony is critical, because Floyd's attorneys are pursuing a "state of mind" defense strategy, and Carter is the only one who can give first-hand evidence about his state of mind in the minutes before the shootings.

Carter's attorney, Chip Siegel, complained today that despite the 21-year-old pregnant woman's status as a material witness, she is now being housed in solitary confinement at the jail because of a confrontation with a corrections officer.

Siegel said Carter, who is due to give birth next month, became angry when a jailer, apparently unaware Carter was in jail as a witness, berated her for getting into trouble while she was pregnant.

"The Clark County Detention Center is not prepared to handle material witnesses," Siegel said.

Carter said in an exclusive interview with the Sun that she is sure the baby is from an ex-boyfriend and not Floyd's offspring.

Floyd was arrested as he came out of the Albertson's at Sahara Avenue and Valley View Boulevard carrying a 12-gauge shotgun. He later confessed to police.

Sobel has scheduled a July 5 hearing on the defense motion to suppress the confessions.

It is expected that Floyd will testify at that hearing about the events that led to his confession.

Although the confessions may aid the prosecution attempts to have Floyd sentenced to death, they are among many pieces of evidence.

Prosecutors have witnesses who were in the store during the 5 a.m. June 3 rampage and videotapes from security cameras.