Death row inmate to get hearing

Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2005 | 8:38 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A man who has been on death row since 1981 for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl is going to get a hearing to determine whether he is mentally retarded and cannot be executed.

The Nevada Supreme Court on Monday ordered the district court in Ely to conduct a hearing for Robert Ybarra Jr., who was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, battery and sexual assault.

This was his fifth appeal to the court, which said this was the first time Ybarra has raised the issue of mental competence. The court noted the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that mentally retarded criminals cannot be put to death.

Ybarra was convicted of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering Nancy Griffin. She was taken into the desert outside of Ely, raped and set on fire by Ybarra. She was found wandering in the desert and identified her assailant before she died the following day in a Salt Lake City hospital.

Ybarra, through the federal public defender's office, raised a number of issues on why his conviction and death sentence should be set aside. But the court rejected all of them except telling District Judge Steve Dobrescu to conduct a hearing to determine if Ybarra is mentally retarded.

In another ruling, the court rejected the appeal of Natasha Barker, sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for the robbery-murder of an owner of a jewelry kiosk in the Fashion Show mall.

Barker, 22, was found guilty last year in the May 2003 slaying of Anthony Limongello, who was lured to his car, robbed and shot in the head.

Aaron Daniels, also 22, was convicted of the same crime.

Barker, held at the Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Facility in North Las Vegas, claimed there was insufficient evidence to back up her admission that she was involved in the robbery-murder.

The court said there was enough independent evidence to corroborate the admissions of Barker that she took part in the crimes.

The court also upheld the second-degree murder conviction of Joseph J. Wright, sentenced to 20 years to life for the fatal shooting of his live-in girlfriend, Christine Pajak, in Las Vegas.

Wright maintained he was trying to prevent Pajak from committing suicide when the gun went off accidentally.

Cy Ryan can be reached at (775) 687-5032 or at cy@lasvegassun.com.