Friday, Jan. 23, 2015 | 1:30 p.m.
CARSON CITY — Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt said today his office has filed an appeal to stop the release of death row inmate Jose Echavarria, convicted of the 1990 murder of an FBI agent during a bank robbery in Las Vegas .
U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du has ordered the state either to retry Echavarria or set him free.
“Jose Echavarria does not deserve a retrial, and my office has already filed a notice to appeal this order to the Ninth Circuit. The district court’s order is stayed and does not release Echavarria pending appeal,” Laxalt said in a statement.
The U.S. District Court’s Jan. 16 order granted Echavarria a new trial based on his allegations of judicial bias, officials said.
The Attorney General’s Office filed a notice of appeal on Jan. 20, seeking reversal of the order.
Echavarria was convicted in the slaying of FBI Special Agent John Bailey during the robbery of a Security Pacific Bank.
On June 25, 1990, Echavarria, disguised as a woman, entered the bank and pulled a gun on a teller who screamed, according to court documents.
Bailey was in the bank on FBI business and fired warning shots at Echavarria, who surrendered his gun, documents said.
As the agent tried to handcuff Echavarria, a struggle ensued and Echavarria grabbed Bailey’s gun, according to documents. Bailey was shot three times.
Echavarria, now 54, was later arrested in Juarez, Mexico.
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