| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 20, 1975[1] Nevada, USA |
| Killings | |
| Killed | 4 |
| Injured | 1 |
Zane Michael Floyd (born September 20, 1975)[1] is a convicted mass murderer who is most notorious for killing four people and injuring another in a Las Vegas, Nevada supermarket on June 3, 1999. After pleading guilty to the murders, Floyd was sentenced to death by a Clark County jury.
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After attending high school, Floyd enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was honorably discharged, but was told that he was not welcome to reenlist due to his heavy drinking.[2]
On June 3, 1999, at approximately 5:16 in the morning, Floyd entered an Albertson's supermarket in Las Vegas and opened fire on random individuals within the store with a shotgun. Wearing Marine Corps camouflage and with a shaved head, Floyd picked his victims at will in a calm manner.
He shot Thomas Darnell in the back twice, killing him. Immediately after, Floyd also killed Carlos Chuck Leos and Dennis Troy Sargeant. Floyd then encountered Zachary T. Emenegger, who fled Floyd when he saw the gunman pointing the shotgun in his direction. Diving under a produce table, Emenegger avoided Floyd's gunfire for 15 seconds before succumbing to gunshots from Floyd's shotgun.
Floyd then shot Emenegger again. He searched the store and found Lucille Alice Tarantino in the rear. He shot her in the head at point-blank range and killed her. Floyd then walked back to Emenegger, who pretended to be dead. Floyd whispered "yeah, you're dead" to Emenegger, and exited the store. In total, Floyd had shot seven shotgun shells, killing four people and critically wounding another. Floyd was out of the supermarket in seven minutes.
Floyd exited the supermarket's north doors to meet the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, who had been called by an employee who had been upstairs and believed there was a robbery in progress.[3] Without exchanging any gunfire, Floyd ran back into the supermarket and exited through the west doors of the supermarket, in hopes of avoiding the police outside. When he noticed that the complex was surrounded by officers, Floyd threatened to kill himself, pointing the shotgun to his head. After an eight-minute standoff, police convinced Floyd to surrender. They immediately arrested him on charges of murder; he confessed that he had killed all of the people inside the supermarket.
After pleading guilty, Floyd went to trial under the judgment of a Nevada state jury. The jury then delivered the maximum verdict: four consecutive death penalties.[4] The jury also ordered restitution totaling more than $180,000 dollars. Per Nevada law, Floyd's death penalty is automatically appealed, and it currently sits in the federal court system.