Execution Stayed for Nevada Inmates Zane Floyd, Ahead of July 26, 2021

Zane Floyd, Nevada

Updated: Tuesday, July 13, 2021

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a request to lift the stay of execution for Zane Floyd.

Updated: Monday, July 12, 2021

Zane Michael Floyd was scheduled to be executed on the week of July 26, 2021, at the Ely State Prison in Ely, Nevada. An exact execution date will be set closer to the time. His execution has been stayed. Forty-five-year-old Zane is convicted of murdering 40-year-old Thomas Michael Darnell, 41-year-old Carlos “Chuck” Leos, 31-year-old Dennis Troy Sargeant, and 60-year-old Lucille Alice Tarantino inside a supermarket in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 3, 1999. Zane has spent the last 20 years on death row in Nevada.

Zane began using drugs around the age of fifteen or sixteen. Zane’s mother was often intoxicated while he was growing up and testified to have a drug and alcohol problem. Zane’s father divorced his mother when he discovered she was pregnant. Zane was a member of the US Marines, and a fellow marine testified that Zane was “the best instructor” but that Zane did not do was well when left “on his own.” Zane was honorably discharged from the Marines, with the condition that he not reenlist due to his alcohol problems. Zane began using drugs again after leaving the Marines and also had trouble holding down a job.

Around 5:15 am, on June 3, 1999, Zane Floyd arrived at a supermarket in Las Vegas, Nevada, dressed in military fatigues and armed with a shotgun. Security footage showed that upon entering the store, Floyd immediately shot Thomas Darnell in the back, killing him. Floyd then proceeded to shoot and kill Carlos Leos and Dennis Sargeant.

Next, Floyd encountered Zachary T. Emenegger, who tried to flee. Floyd chased him, shooting Zachary twice. After shooting Zachary, Floyd leaned over him and gloated “Yeah, you’re dead,” however Zachary was playing dead and survived his injuries. Floyd then went to the back of the store, where he shot Lucille Tarantino in the head, killing her.

Floyd then walked out of the grocery store, where the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department were waiting for him. Floyd quickly reentered the store, then exited again, this time pointing the shotgun at his head. A police officer spoke with Floyd for several minutes, resulting in Floyd putting the gun down and being taken into custody. Floyd admitted to officers at the scene that he shot several people inside the store.

Ultimately, Floyd pled guilty to the murders and was sentenced to death by a jury. A year after his death sentence, Floyd was also convicted of repeatedly raping a woman in the hours prior to the mass shooting.

U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware has issued a stay of execution ahead of the execution of Floyd. Judge Boulware’s ruling prevents Nevada from moving forward with the execution before the week of October 18, 2021. The stay of execution was granted to allow time for Zane and his attorneys to investigate the drugs Nevada plans to use in the execution. Previously, Nevada prison officials announced that they would be using a new drug combination for the execution: the opioid fentanyl, the sedative ketamine, and potassium chloride or potassium acetate to stop the heart. Attorneys for Floyd are challenging this untested lethal injection protocol, while Floyd has previous stated that he would prefer to be executed by firing squad. Additionally, the company that made and sold the ketamine to the prison is now demanding that the prison return the drug, alleging that it was obtained through fraudulent methods and that using the drug in an execution will cause significant damage to reputation of the business.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is appealing the ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware, which has halted Floyd’s execution.

Pray for peace and healing for Zachary Emenegger and for the families of Thomas Michael Darnell, Carlos “Chuck” Leos, Dennis Troy Sargeant, and Lucille Alice Tarantino. Pray for strength for the family of Zane Floyd. Pray that if Zane is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason, that evidence be provided prior to the execution. Pray that Zane may come to find peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.