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Man found shot to death in his van in North Las Vegas ID’d

Updated September 7, 2018 - 5:43 pm

The Clark County coroner’s office has identified a man found dead inside his utility van early Sunday in North Las Vegas.

Because Santiago Moreno-Contreras was found slumped over in the driver’s seat, his injuries were “not immediately visible” to police. It was not until the coroner arrived at the scene hours later that they determined that he had been shot.

The 37-year-old’s death was ruled a homicide by multiple gunshot wounds. It was the second homicide in just over two hours investigated Sunday morning by North Las Vegas police. Investigators do not believe the two incidents were related.

About 7:15 a.m., officers were requested to investigate reports of gunfire at a parking lot on the southwest corner of East Lake Mead Boulevard and North McCarran Street. There, they found a Moreno-Contreras dead inside the van, which he used for his mobile car wash business.

Police believe that he was shot in the parking lot.

An arrest had not been made in the case as of Friday. Anyone with with information about the killing can contact the North Las Vegas Police Department at 702-633-9111 or, to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.

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