County judge, in rift with defense lawyer, disqualified in murder case

A rift between Clark County District Judge Douglas Smith and defense lawyer Kristina Wildeveld has forced the judge off a murder case.

Chief Judge David Barker ruled this week that the relationship between the two "deteriorated to a point where a reasonable person … would harbor reasonable doubts about Smith's impartiality."

Smith wrote in an affidavit that he believes Wildeveld held a grudge against him because he prosecuted her father in a conspiracy case 20 years ago.

Wildeveld said she did not realize Smith worked on her father's case.

The unusual request to have Smith disqualified from overseeing any cases involving Wildeveld's clients arose in her defense of Casey Sandoval, a 17-year-old charged with murder in the shooting death of his 16-year-old girlfriend, Arely Azrate-Lujan.

Smith acknowledged that in previous hearings he told Wildeveld she was "overzealous" and "overly passionate." In June, Smith said Wildeveld "doesn't act professional" when she is in his courtroom.

The judge, however, said he was not biased and could remain "fair and impartial" with Wildeveld's clients.

In a reply to Smith's affidavit, Wildeveld wrote that the judge made a "mocking inquiry" when he asked whether the teenage defendant was subject to the death penalty. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled more than 10 years ago that the death penalty for someone younger than 18 was unconstitutional.

"It is this sort of flippant comment on the record admixed with the other concerns that suggests Judge Smith may not be completely forthright in disclaiming any bias at all," Wildeveld wrote.

Barker pointed out that he did not find "extreme bias" from the judge. The ruling specifically disqualifies Smith from hearing the murder case and two other unrelated cases Wildeveld currently has before him. The attorney expects that Smith also would be disqualified from future cases should she be assigned to his courtroom.

A new judge has yet to be assigned in Sandoval's case.

Meanwhile, recently released transcripts from a grand jury hearing revealed new details in Azrate-Lujan's Oct. 15 death, which prosecutors called an "execution."

Sandoval lied twice about the shooting and authorities believe his mother may have lied to police as well, according to grand jury testimony.

In an initial handwritten statement, Sandoval told police that he was outside the bedroom when he heard a "loud thump ... and didn't pay no mind to it. ... I came into the room and I saw her on the floor bleeding all over."

He later told a North Las Vegas detective he picked up his .22-caliber Walther handgun to clean it and noticed a lone bullet in the chamber. He said he was trying to pry the bullet free using a screwdriver when the gun discharged, striking Azrate-Lujan in the left side of her forehead from 4 feet away.

But a forensic pathologist found that the gun was pressed against the back of the girl's head when she was killed.

"His story wasn't consistent with the evidence," North Las Vegas police Detective Dave Smith testified.

Wildeveld said she wants Sandoval's statement thrown out because anyone younger than 18 has a right to have a parent present when questioned by police.

Authorities also are trying to determine whether Sandoval lied about how he found the handgun. Sandoval told detectives he spotted the gun in a cave, but authorities recovered no dirt on the gun or the box it was in.

Wildeveld argued that the shooting was an accident and the teens were in love.

Sandoval's mother, Rosalva Velez-Prestequi, and 12-year-old sister, Diana Noreen Sandoval, also testified before the grand jury.

Both said they loved Azrate-Lujan, who lived at their home and stayed in a bedroom with Casey Sandoval, like their own family member.

Velez-Prestequi said she found a shell casing six days after the death while cleaning the bedroom and putting out candles and flowers for the girl. A detective does not believe her, saying he searched the bedroom while on his hands and knees and came up empty.

The mother turned the shell casing over to Wildeveld, who ultimately gave it to police.

"We're not hiding evidence," Velez-Prestequi testified. "We are trying to cooperate because this was an accident. All of us, most of all Casey, loved that girl. I love her as my own daughter."

Neither the mother nor her daughter reported hearing a gunshot.

Diana Sandoval testified that she was in her bedroom, across the hall, browsing Facebook when she heard her brother scream.

"He was saying, 'babe, babe,' and then he told me to call the ambulance," she said. "He was just in shock."

Their mother rushed into the room and attempted to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

"Forgive me, I had a gun," Casey Sandoval told her.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker.