Trial opens in robbery-slaying in LV

The couple were the victims of a robbery outside their time-share.

Two men beat and robbed them as they were walking into the Tahiti Vacation Club. Lydia Nieva’s attacker punched her repeatedly in the face and on her body. Angel Nieva, 62, was hurt so badly he later died from head trauma at University Medical Center.

The men accused of attacking the couple are on trial in District Court. Authorities accuse Michael Smith, 25, and Adrian McKnight, 21, of robbing the couple and killing Angel Nieva.

A third man, 18-year-old Ronnie Gibson, also faces charges related to the incident. Gibson, who was 16 at the time of the killing, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

He is expected to testify against Smith and McKnight.

On Thursday, Lydia Nieva, 65, testified in the trial, which opened Wednesday. She and her husband had been married for 35 years and lived in Southern California.

She worked for an insurance company, and Angel Nieva, a chemical engineer, worked at Raytheon.

On the night of the slaying, the Nievas visited the Tropicana hotel to pick up a voucher for a show they wanted to see. They gambled and left the casino about 2 a.m. to return to the Tahiti Vacation Club on Tropicana Avenue near Decatur Boulevard.

Shortly after arriving at the time-share, two men attacked the couple in the parking lot. Their assailants were both described as being taller than 6 feet.

Lydia Nieva is a petite woman who stands about 4 feet 7 inches. Her husband was about 5 feet 6 inches tall.

Lydia Nieva told the jury that her attacker tried to grab her bag and then started punching her.

“I was so terrified and so traumatized,” she said.

She ran into the Tahiti Vacation Club and asked for help. When she returned to her husband, he was lying on his back outside the time-share. His breathing was labored and he had suffered serious head injuries. The couple were taken to UMC, and Angel Nieva died the next day.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Stanton told the jury that the defendants had robbed another woman in a separate incident in Las Vegas before targeting the Nievas.

Police arrested the three men several months after the slaying and robberies.

Authorities tracked the men down in part by checking cell phone records from the victim’s phone, which had been stolen during the robbery and later used. The records linked the defendants to the robbery, Stanton said.

The suspects’ fingerprints were found in or on the vehicle used during the robbery of the Nievas.

Stanton said McKnight told authorities that he took part in the May 2007 robbery and punched a woman in the face. But he denied ever hitting the man. Gibson admitted to police that he acted as a getaway driver, Stanton said.

Gibson described Smith as the brains behind the robberies and McKnight as the muscle, Stanton said.

One of McKnight’s attorneys, Cynthia Dustin, said McKnight admitted to striking Lydia Nieva but denied ever touching Angel Nieva. She shifted blame for the slaying to Gibson, saying that he killed Angel Nieva.

Jonathan MacArthur, one of Smith’s attorneys, also blamed Gibson for the killing.

MacArthur said Smith wasn’t with the other two and didn’t take part in the robbery and killing.

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