Jury set to make life-or-death call

Kim Smith

Wednesday, July 19, 2000 | 11:26 a.m.

If not Zane Floyd, then who should be subjected to the death penalty? That was the question Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell asked the jury to consider this morning as they prepared to head into deliberations.

Bell said that when you look at the number of people Floyd "killed, injured or terrorized," the question of whether he should be executed should be an easy one to answer.

Floyd was "just looking for numbers" when he walked into a grocery store on June 3, 1999, and shot five people, Bell said. "Only the grace of God limited the carnage to four."

His voice cracking, Bell said one of Floyd's victims, Thomas Darnell, had 100 times the problems Floyd had and yet he made lemons into lemonade.

The jury that convicted Floyd of 11 counts related to the rampage Thursday now is faced with deciding whether he should receive the death penalty or life in prison. They were expected to begin deliberations this morning.

Floyd had destruction on his mind that day and a hollow soul, and he still does, Bell said.

"The same Zane Floyd that sits here today is the same Zane Floyd that was raping and killing on June 3," Bell said.

Bell pointed out that when Floyd took the stand Tuesday, he spoke in a monotone and failed to look at those whose lives he destroyed by his actions.

Death is the only appropriate sentence, Bell said.

When Floyd took the stand Tuesday he apologized, but said he still doesn't have any answers.

"There's not a whole lot I can say to the families of the four people I killed," Floyd said. "I can't take back what I did, but I would if I could."

Although he seemed nervous, a composed and tearless Floyd said what he did was inexcusable and he is ready to take responsibility for his acts. Bailiffs stood blocking the courtroom's two aisles as he spoke.

Floyd insisted he didn't plan the rampage and "I didn't kill those people for fun. I didn't do that. I didn't do that for fun."

Some victims' family members left the courtroom before Floyd spoke, others simply shook their heads after he spoke. Some of the jurors cried.

According to prosecutors, after Floyd repeatedly raped an outcall service dancer, he walked into the Sahara Avenue grocery store and opened fire. Killed were Darnell, 40, Chuck Leos, 40, Dennis "Troy" Sargent, 31, and Lucy Tarantino, 60.

After giving himself up, Floyd told police that he had wanted to commit suicide, but not before fulfilling two longtime fantasies -- one involving sex and the other the experience of killing.

Floyd's mother, Valerie, took the stand before Floyd. She spoke of her failed marriage to Floyd's father, who abandoned her before Floyd was born, her problem with alcohol and Floyd's battle with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Valerie Floyd described her son as a loving, sensitive person with a great sense of humor, but said that in the months after the rampage he "kinda wasn't there, he was blank."

Sobbing, Valerie Floyd told the courtroom that "I failed my son at times in his life and by doing that, I failed everyone in here. I'm terribly sorry for what my son's done. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Psychologist Edward Dougherty was on the stand much of Tuesday. The defense expert told jurors that he believes that in addition to ADHD, Floyd suffers from a mixed personality disorder that was worsened by alcohol and substance abuse.

On the morning of the incident, Dougherty said Floyd's reasoning was impaired and he was likely in a "disassociative" state, meaning he watched himself commit the acts, but couldn't stop himself.

Tests show that Floyd suffers from an excessive number of fears, has feelings of uselessness, resentfulness and isolation and becomes impulsive and confused under stress, Dougherty said.

Dougherty said he doesn't know why Floyd did what he did either, but said the best way to describe it is "he snapped." For the most part, Floyd didn't act "purposeful or knowingly," he said.

Under cross-examination, however, Dougherty agreed with Chief Deputy District Attorney Bill Koot that Floyd "purposely" enticed the outcall dancer to his home by lying about how much money he had. He also purposely stuffed something in her mouth to muffle her screams as he raped her and he purposely put items under his bed to hide evidence of the sexual assaults.

If Floyd wasn't acting "knowingly," why did he purposely address two of his victims so he could see them as he shot them, Koot asked. Wasn't that part of the fantasy he told police about?

Dougherty complained that Koot was asking him, as a rational person, to explain an irrational act, and that is impossible to do.

The doctor also resisted Koot's attempts to classify Floyd as a sociopath, a person without conscience.

Despite some evidence of anti-social behavior, Dougherty said Floyd never tortured animals, wet his bed or committed arson. Most sociopaths do so as children.

"It's not there," Dougherty said.

This morning neuropsychologist Louis Mortillaro testified as a rebuttal witness. He told jurors Floyd isn't brain-damaged, isn't mentally ill and knows the difference between right and wrong. He also said Floyd has an average intelligence quotient.

Tests showed that Floyd puts pleasure before business, is suspicious and antagonistic, is likely to exhibit hostile feelings and is often insensitive to others feelings.

Also testifying Tuesday was Mike Floyd, who adopted Zane when the boy was about 4.

Mike Floyd said he blames himself for many of his son's problems, because he "wasn't smart enough to understand what was wrong" with him. He resisted putting Zane into special education at an early age, because he felt it was just for mentally handicapped children.

The courtroom fell eerily silent when Mike Floyd said he also believed in "capital punishment" and used it often, because he believed back then that Zane wasn't trying hard enough. One of the defense attorneys asked him if he meant "corporal punishment" and Mike Floyd said yes.

When Zane decided to go into the Marine Corps, Mike Floyd said he tried to convince him to go into another branch of the military.

"I didn't feel he could go into the Marines and learn anything but how to kill," a tearful Mike Floyd said. "I wanted him to have something to fall back on in the civilian world.

"He was always very sensitive. You could talk to Zane and he'd start to cry. I didn't think he had the right temperament."