Killer apologizes to jury, relatives of John Herda

The man who could be put to death for killing a Las Vegas businessman apologized to the jury and the victim's family in court Monday, saying he was "so sorry."

Using a court-supplied microphone to boost his soft voice, Bryan Crawley stood in District Court and told the audience and jury that his once ambitious goals in life had vanished. Crawley, 41, attended Texas A&M on a sports scholarship and played football but stopped after he was injured.

"I've sat with you these last few weeks and heard all the terrible things that happened to many good people," Crawley said. "I want you to know I'm deeply saddened for everyone involved with this trial."

At the end of his short statement, Crawley turned and faced the relatives of his victim, John Herda, who were sitting in the back of the courtroom.

"I'm so sorry," he said. Herda's son John and his wife, Susan, who were in the courtroom, then began to cry.

A jury convicted Crawley last week of killing 83-year-old Herda during a robbery and home invasion at Herda's Spanish Oaks home in 2006. The jury will decide whether Crawley should be put to death.

The jury convicted Crawley of 24 charges, some based on an attempt to kill a woman in Henderson during a robbery and an attempt to hire a man to kill witnesses.

During his six-week trial, prosecutors told the jury that Crawley had beaten his girlfriend, stabbed a man during a bar fight, been imprisoned for a series of robberies and killed Herda, a Marine veteran who fought in the Pacific in World War II and founded Herda's Discount TV & Appliance in Las Vegas.

On Monday, Crawley's friends and relatives testified that he had a tough childhood. His mother, they said, taught him to steal when he was 5 years old and introduced him to drugs. They pleaded with the jury not to sentence him to death.

"I think it would be a shame and I'd miss him like crazy," said Rita Crawley, his aunt.

Much of Monday's testimony centered on Crawley's mother, Lana Hane. Hane pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor in connection with the Herda case. She was accused of trying to help Crawley fabricate evidence.

Hane's father was a pimp who lived with several women, all prostitutes, said Sheila Cahill, a mitigation specialist who investigated Crawley's background on behalf of his defense team.

Hane later worked as a high-priced prostitute in Las Vegas and introduced Crawley to sex and drugs at an early age, Cahill and relatives said.

If you look behind every crime Crawley committed, you'll find Hane right behind him, said Perry Pruitt, Crawley's aunt.

Crawley went to live with his grandparents in Arizona around the age of 12. He married his high school girlfriend but was devastated when they divorced.

He later owned a successful cleaning business in Las Vegas. The business failed, however, after he was sent to prison for a series of robberies.

Brandi McCoy, Crawley's cousin, told the jury that his difficult upbringing influenced Crawley and his later actions. But, she said, there's still good in him.

"I know he's got a heart of gold," she said.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.