Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Convicted killer makes deal to avoid death penalty

A local man convicted of killing a UNLV student in a murder-for-hire plot struck a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to avoid the possibility of a death sentence.

During a hearing on Thursday, Luis Barroso, 25, agreed to a sentence of life in prison without parole for the January 2001 killing of 27-year-old Tzatzi Sanchez.

Jurors convicted Barroso of first-degree murder and other charges in the case on Wednesday. As part of the deal, Barroso agreed to give up his rights to appeal the case.

"The defendant will never get out of the Nevada state prison system for the rest of his natural life," Chief Deputy District Attorney Frank Coumou said, outside court.

Coumou said he had intended to argue for Barroso's execution during the penalty phase of the trial, which was scheduled to begin this morning. He said jurors could have returned with a death verdict.

"I would have pursued the death penalty had (defense attorneys) not approached me." he said. "I was convinced that I stood a good shot."

Barroso's lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Howard Brooks, said his client took the deal in order to avoid a death sentence and to bring closure to the case. He said he also considered the family of the victim and his own family when making the deal.

"Had he received death, it would've been very difficult for his family," Brooks said.

Convicted killer Susanne Carno and her brother, John Brian Ray, entered into similar negotiations after their capital murder trial last month. The siblings were convicted in the death of Carno's husband, Richard.

Moments before their penalty phase was expected to begin, the pair took a deal that will make each eligible for parole after 40 years. They also agreed not to appeal the case. Defense attorneys in that case said their clients took the deal to avoid a harsher punishment.

District Attorney David Roger said sentencing negotiations, as they are called, are becoming more and more common in Clark County courtrooms.

"It's starting to happen more frequently where defense attorneys approach us after their client is convicted, asking for a sentencing negotiation," he said.

Roger said prosecutors often strike a deal following a conviction in order to avoid the possibility of the case being reversed on appeal further down the road.

"You weigh that against your gut feeling on whether the jury will issue a sentence of death," he said.

In Barroso's case, jurors could have returned with a sentence of death, life in prison without parole, life in prison with parole or a fixed term of 50 years in prison.

But ensuring that Barroso could not appeal the case was the most significant aspect of the deal, Coumou said. He said the appeals process is complex and can last for decades.

"This way we don't have to come back every year for the next 20 years and argue about whether the trial process was handled properly," he said. "There is some finality."

Coumou said sentencing negotiations also happen in cases in which the death penalty is not an option.

In this case the victim, Sanchez, was found strangled in her home near Nellis Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. She had also been beaten and sexually assaulted.

Authorities say the slaying was rooted in a complicated love triangle involving Sanchez, her former lover, Marsella Whaley, and another woman whom Whaley had dated. Prosecutors say Whaley hired Barroso to kill Sanchez after Sanchez began a relationship with Whaley's former lover.

Omed Marroquin is also charged in the killing and is waiting to stand trial on similar charges. Whaley faces charges in Mexico, where she fled following the slaying.

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