Archanian v. State
| Decision Date | 09 November 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 44798.,44798. |
| Citation | 145 P.3d 1008 |
| Parties | Avetis ARCHANIAN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Nevada, Respondent. |
| Court | Nevada Supreme Court |
Leavitt Law Firm and Glenn C. Schepps, Las Vegas, for Appellant.
George Chanos, Attorney General, Carson City; David J. Roger, District Attorney, and Steven S. Owens, Chief Deputy District Attorney, Clark County, for Respondent.
Before the Court En Banc.
Appellant Avetis Archanian beat to death Elisa Del Prado and her mother Juana Quiroga in the back room of the jewelry store owned by Del Prado and her family and then absconded with thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry. The jury found Archanian guilty of two counts of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon of a victim 65 years of age or older and returned a sentence of death. The jury also found Archanian guilty of two counts of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon of a victim 65 years of age or older, for which he was sentenced to four consecutive terms of 72 to 180 months in prison.
Archanian alleges a number of errors occurred at trial, none of which, we conclude, warrant relief. However, as part of our mandatory review, we conclude that one of the two aggravating circumstances found to support Archanian's death sentence must be stricken pursuant to our decision in McConnell v. State.1 After reweighing the remaining aggravating and mitigating evidence, we conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury would have imposed death absent the erroneous aggravating circumstance. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of conviction and sentence of death.
Guilt phase
Like any other morning, on September 2, 2003, around 9:20, Archanian entered the World Merchants jewelry store in Las Vegas, where he was employed as a jewelry repairman. Shortly after his arrival, however, the usual routine turned shockingly violent. A surveillance recording showed Archanian greeting 67-year-old Elisa Del Prado, the store owner, and then retreating to the store workroom. Minutes later, Del Prado entered the workroom, apparently at Archanian's behest. Soon thereafter, 86-year-old Juana Quiroga, Del Prado's mother, apparently heard a commotion in the workroom and went to investigate. Moments later, Quiroga attempted to escape but was dragged back into the room. Her legs kicked about, and then all movement ceased. Archanian exited the room, retrieved numerous pieces of jewelry from various trays and cases, and left the store.
Around 10:00 that morning, Esther McElhaney arrived at the World Merchants jewelry store to have a bracelet repaired. As she reached to push the buzzer to be let into the store, Archanian stopped her and told her "not to touch anything." He led McElhaney to a store window and told her to look inside. McElhaney saw Quiroga's body lying on the floor and Del Prado's legs. Archanian told McElhaney that he had called 9-1-1 but that no one had yet arrived. Archanian dialed 9-1-1 again, but handed the phone to McElhaney because he did not speak English clearly.2
When a police officer arrived at the scene, she discovered Quiroga dead, with a bloody hammer resting near her body. She also found Del Prado seriously wounded but still alive. When paramedics lifted Del Prado onto a gurney, a 12- to 14-inch metal rod fell out of the back of her skull. The metal rod was later determined to be a ring sizer. Del Prado survived for about six months after the attack, during which time she opened her eyes but was never able to communicate. She succumbed to her injuries on March 7, 2004.
After reviewing the surveillance recording, a police officer recognized Archanian as an individual he interviewed when he first arrived at the scene. Archanian was located and arrested hours after the murders.
Crime scene analysts collected, examined, and tested several pieces of physical evidence. The hammer found next to Quiroga's body was covered in her blood. The metal ring sizer that fell out of Del Prado's skull tested positive for her blood. Quiroga's blood was also found on Archanian's pants, and Del Prado's blood was found on a pair of his gloves and on his pants and shirt.3 Del Prado's blood was also found on a fire extinguisher recovered from the store. Human female blood was found on Archanian's satchel and shoes, but the source of the blood could not be determined. Human blood was also found on Archanian's car door, but the sample was too small to identify whose blood it was. Jewelry from the store was discovered in Archanian's pockets and in his car.
Quiroga's autopsy revealed that she suffered multiple head lacerations and skull fractures caused by a blunt instrument. A subarachnoid hemorrhage was discovered on the surface of her brain, and she sustained large bruises on both shoulders. The forensic pathologist concluded that Quiroga died from blunt force trauma and that the manner of death was homicide.
Del Prado's autopsy disclosed that she sustained multiple wounds to her skull, including an area where a portion of her skull was missing. She also suffered injuries to her brain, including a section where her brain was missing. The forensic pathologist concluded that Del Prado died from blunt force trauma due to assault and that the manner of death was homicide.
Archanian asserted no defense at trial other than he did not commit the crimes. Further, he called four witnesses, all of whom described him as a nonviolent, helpful, and patient person. His sister testified that he fainted at the sight of blood.
The jury found Archanian guilty on all counts.
Penalty hearing
During the penalty hearing, the State called several of Quiroga and Del Prado's relatives. The witnesses testified that they missed the women very much and that their murders had devastated the family. Quiroga was described as very loving, independent, and religious. Her daughter testified that Quiroga was born in Cuba and was very proud when she became a United States citizen. Witnesses described Del Prado as hard-working, sophisticated, elegant, loved by many, and having provided her children with a fairytale childhood. Del Prado volunteered in the community, won several community awards, and took care of her grandchildren while her single daughter worked long hours. Javier Del Prado, Del Prado's son, testified that she tried to help Archanian by giving him a job and that his actions were treasonous.
Archanian called four witnesses in mitigation. He grew up in Armenia, and his family moved to the United States in 1977 when he was 20 years old. His sister testified that as a young boy in Armenia he helped his neighbors by shopping for them or performing various household chores. Archanian was described as a peaceful, nonviolent man and the murders were described as being out of his character. Several witnesses testified that his execution would devastate his family and that they would miss him. Archanian's wife and 19-year-old son, Avak, testified that Archanian fainted at the sight of blood. Avak also described Archanian as a good father with whom he had a close relationship. Archanian made a statement in allocution via a letter read to the jury. He described Del Prado and Quiroga as "pleasant and smiling" people and expressed his "deepest sorrow" to the family. Archanian further expressed his disbelief that Del Prado and Quiroga were dead.
The State alleged three aggravating circumstances for each murder: that the murder was committed during the commission of or an attempt to commit or flight after committing or attempting to commit a robbery;4 that the murder was committed to "receive money or any other thing of monetary value";5 and that the murder was committed by a person who had, in the immediate proceeding, been convicted of more than one offense of murder in the first or second degree.6 Prior to the penalty hearing, the State withdrew the receiving-money aggravating circumstance because the jury had found Archanian guilty of robbery. The jury found the two remaining aggravating circumstances in each of the murders.
Numerous mitigating circumstances were submitted for the jury's consideration for both murders, including: that Archanian had no significant history of prior criminal activity; that he had lifetime full employment; that as a boy he delivered food and medicine to his neighbors without pay; that he had to leave home at age 20 to flee communist oppression; that his father died when he was 22 years old and that he held the family together; that when his mother-in-law committed suicide he held the family together; that he helped five families fleeing communism get established in the United States; and any other mitigating circumstance. Only one mitigating circumstance was found for each murder — that Archanian had no significant history of prior criminal activity.
The jury further unanimously found beyond a reasonable doubt that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstance and imposed death for each murder. Archanian was also sentenced to four consecutive terms of 72 to 180 months in prison for the two robbery counts.
Admission of videotape
Archanian alleges that the district court erred in admitting a videotape, arguing that it violated the best evidence rule and was not properly authenticated. World Merchants jewelry store was equipped with a digital surveillance system. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) Detective Jeff Rosgen testified that ADT Security maintained the digital surveillance system and that an ADT technician reported to the crime scene and played what was recorded on the system during the time the crimes were committed. The surveillance system recorded images digitally and stored them on a hard drive. The technician connected the surveillance system to a VCR and a monitor, allowing Detective Rosgen to review the images and simultaneously...
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...doubt, however, that the jury would have returned the same sentence absent that aggravating circumstance. See Archanian v. State, 122 Nev. 1019, 1040, 145 P.3d 1008, 1023 (2006) ("A death sentence based in part on an invalid aggravator may be upheld either by reweighing the aggravating and ......
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Castillo v. Gittere, Case No. 2:04-cv-00868-RCJ-GWF
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