Suspect describes fatal stabbing of his married lover’s boyfriend, who was her cousin

A man arrested in the stabbing death of another man claims his lover was having another affair with the victim, her cousin.

Police received a call at 2:27 a.m. Saturday from Maria Capana-Mendoza, claiming her cousin had been stabbed, a Metro arrest report said. She said she had just seen police officers take the suspect into custody.

Police officers were heading to the Clark County Detention Center when they noticed a man chasing a woman at the intersection of Stewart Avenue and North Bruce Street, the report said. The officers stopped the man and noticed blood on his clothing; the woman continued walking toward 16th Street, according to police.

Other officers responding to the residence in the 300 block of North 16th Street found the front door open and were met by “a panicked Maria” who then led them to a man “face down behind a couch covered in blood,” the arrest report said.

Police called medical aid for the man, later identified as Antonio Leon-Mendoza. The man was taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after.

Officers at the house and intersection “realized the two incidents were related,” the report said, and as the officers at the house walked back to the intersection where the man had chased the woman — later identified as Capana-Mendoza — they found a knife on the sidewalk on Stewart just before 16th Street. The officers then called Metro homicide detectives to investigate, the report said.

In the report, Capana-Mendoza told police that Julio Aguero-Alvarez and Leon-Mendoza both lived at the residence, and that she was at home in a bedroom with Leon-Mendoza with the door closed and locked. Capana-Mendoza told police that Aguero-Alvarez had texted her and told her to leave, but when she did not, she said he kicked in the door and began to argue with her. She then told police that the argument turned physical, the report said.

Leon-Mendoza was stabbed multiple times after the argument, the report said. Capana-Mendoza ran, screaming for help, as the attacker “turned his attention to her.”

Police arrested Ageuro-Alvarez at 2:28 a.m. near the intersection of Stewart and Bruce.

Police said Aguero-Alvarez told them that he was in a sexual relationship with Capana-Mendoza, who is married and was his boss. He said she was also in a sexual relationship with the victim, Leon-Mendoza, her cousin.

In the report, Aguero-Alvarez told police that he texted Capana-Mendoza to leave, saying that he was jealous that she was with Leon-Mendoza, and when she ignored him, he “grabbed his knife and went to the bedroom,” the report said. Aguero-Alvarez told detectives that he kicked down the locked door and said “he remembers stabbing Antonio approximately four times,” the report said.

The report said Aguero-Alvarez was shown a photograph of the knife that police found and identified it as his.

Aguero-Alvarez faces one charge of attempted murder with a deadly weapon and one charge of murder with a deadly weapon, Clark County Detention Center documents show. He is scheduled to have an initial court appearance at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Contact Christian Bertolaccini at cbertolaccini@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find @bertolaccinic on Twitter.