Archanian v. State

145 P.3d 1008 (2006) Avetis ARCHANIAN, Appellant, v. The STATE of Nevada, Respondent. No. 44798. Supreme Court of Nevada. November 9, 2006. *1013 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. OPINION ROSE, C.J. 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. FACTS 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 *1014 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 …