Convicted killer’s lawyers ask judge to grant new trial

Erica D. Johnson

Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003 | 10:04 a.m.

Attorneys defending the man sentenced to death in the killing of a 9-year-old North Las Vegas girl say their client deserves a new trial because of new evidence and alleged misconduct by prosecutors.

A motion filed this week by the Office of the Special Public Defender asks a District Judge to grant a new trial for Pascual Lozano, 24.

Jurors had determined that Lozano should be executed for firing the shots that killed Genesis Gonzales during a gang shootout in September 2002.

But the 19-page motion lists new evidence concerning the testimony of two key state witnesses and cites a newspaper article about the lead prosecutor as reasons Lozano's conviction should be overturned.

Clark County prosecutors Ed Kane, the subject of the newspaper story, and Vickie Monroe have denied any misconduct in the case. They expect to argue against the motion in a hearing before District Judge John McGroarty scheduled for Nov. 20.

Defense attorneys in the motion question the credibility of state witness and convicted child molester Scott Riddel. Riddel, who was housed with Lozano at the Clark County Detention Center, testified that Lozano confessed to killing a girl while he fired shots at someone else.

Riddel told jurors he had learned about Lozano's case a week prior to trial when he read about it in the newspaper.

According to the motion, however, Riddel is the publisher of a Spanish magazine, Familia y Salud, which featured a two-page article on the shooting in September 2002.

"Riddel's credibility becomes more suspect based on this new information," the motion states.

Also at issue is testimony from Gonzales' 14-year-old sister, Tannia Gonzales. She testified that she saw a man open fire in an alley near the complex moments after the shooting, but said she was not sure of the sex or ethnicity of the gunman.

An investigator for the district attorney's office later testified that Tannia Gonzales told him that the gunman was a Hispanic male. Lozano is Hispanic.

Tannia Gonzales allegedly told defense attorneys following the trial that she never told anyone the man was Hispanic.

Defense attorneys allege testimony from Tannia Gonzales and the investigator were key factors in Lozano's conviction.

"Had the jury been informed that Tannia Gonzales did not tell anyone that the shooter was Hispanic or Latino, the testimony of the investigator would have been discredited," the motion states.

The motion also accuses Kane, the chief deputy district attorney, of acting irresponsibly by granting an interview with the Review-Journal.

A story on Kane's career was published in the newspaper the day before the death penalty was handed down. The story, titled "Justice is Served," mentioned that Kane had helped secure a conviction against Lozano.

"Incredibly, Ed Kane knew the story was going to be printed while the jury was still deliberating and made no efforts to preserve the process," the motion states.

Jurors are instructed not to read newspapers during their service. When polled individually by the judge after the jury settled on the death penalty, two jurors said they had seen the story but had not read it.

The motion claims the two jurors were "influenced by the article, affecting the verdict and ultimately depriving Lozano of fair penalty deliberations."

Jurors convicted Lozano after a three-week trial before McGroarty. Prosecutors argued that Gonzales was struck by a stray bullet as Lozano fired shots at a rival gang member named Robert Valentine.

Defense attorneys maintained that Lozano was not the triggerman and that the gunman was actually an associate of Lozano's who was at the scene of the crime.