Woman recorded shooting pastor will not face death penalty
A woman recorded on video fatally shooting a Nevada pastor in front of his family during a longstanding HOA dispute in December will not face the death penalty if she is convicted of murder.
During an arraignment Thursday, the woman, 36-year-old Joe Junio, pleaded not guilty, 8 News Now reported. Prosecutors in the case also said a death review committee declined pursuing the death penalty against her.
Junio is in custody at the Clark County Detention Center where she is being held without bail. A judge was scheduled to set a trial date on March 26.
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On Dec. 29, 2023, the Rev. Nick Davi, 46, who served as a pastor of operations at the non-denominational Grace Point Church, was shot dead by Junio in a condominium complex near Deer Springs and Aviary ways. Junio was the pastor’s neighbor.
Court documents cited by Fox 5 KVVU-TV say Davi’s widow, Sarah Davi, who was also shot in the attack recorded by her 12- and 15-year-old children from inside the family's car, is now seeking unspecified damages in a lawsuit she filed in January. Junio is facing charges of murder, attempted murder and child abuse.
A police report cited by the publication said the late pastor and his widow had previously reported Junio to their homeowners association for “violations in relation to chickens and dogs.”
Just weeks prior to the shooting, Junio began “engaging in escalating threatening behavior” that forced the pastor and his wife to call police twice in December.
Junio once allegedly threw rocks in their yard and “ran her finger across her throat in a cutting motion and told them they were next,” according to police. The murder suspect further dumped dog feces on their property and flooded their home forcing them to file a restraining order against her.
On the day of the shooting, the lawsuit said the pastor was talking to Junio outside his home as she was inside her vehicle and she “suddenly opened the door of her vehicle” and shot him and his wife in front of their children who managed to record the incident on a cellphone.
“As a result of Defendant’s actions, Grace Point Church and North Las Vegas lost a valuable member of the community, and a family lost their husband and father,” Sarah Davi’s attorneys, James Urrutia and Andrew Barton, wrote in the lawsuit. “This suit seeks to hold all those responsible civilly accountable for their actions.”
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