Plea deal made in death of man trying to protect daughter

Monday, Nov. 10, 2003 | 9:03 a.m.

A man convicted of the shooting death of a Las Vegas father as he helped his daughter put her bike away will face a minimum of 30 years in prison when sentenced by District Judge McGroarty Dec. 18.

Omar Robles, 23, cut a deal Thursday with prosecutors as jury selection was already under way for his trial. He pled guilty to one count of murder in the first degree for the death of 39-year-old Nazario Rios-Olivera and one count of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon for shooting Ricardo Barragan in the leg.

Robles faces 20 years to life for the murder, five years for the attempted murder and another five for the deadly weapon, attorneys said Friday.

Authorities say Robles was trying to shoot Barragan when he opened fire in an alley in the 1300 block of North 13th Street. They say Rios-Olivera was caught in the crossfire as he shielded his daughter from the bullets. He had been helping her put her bike away in a nearby apartment complex, police said.

Robles had originally refused the deal offered by prosecutors but reconsidered when some witnesses already scheduled to testify turned out to be eyewitnesses to the crime, Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Owens said.

"We had them as witnesses, but all of them spoke Spanish and so none of them had been interviewed before," Owens said.

The additional witnesses greatly strengthened the prosecution's case, and in fairness, Owens said they re-extended their offer to Robles.

"If convicted, he was facing life without the possibility of parole," said Robles' attorney James "Bucky" Buchanan. "It seemed to be in his best interest (to accept the deal) with all the facts in the case."