March homicide resulted from drug deal, Henderson police say

Henderson police believe a bad drug deal led to the death of a 22-year-old man in March, according to a newly released arrest report.

Investigators believe Jose Cortez and Hector Rosales led Edgar Monzon-Serrano and his brother John to the 200 block of Shoshone Lane on March 27, where Rosales fatally shot Edgar Monzon-Serrano, according to an arrest report for Cortez and Rosales released Monday.

John Monzon-Serrano told police he was driving his brother to meet two unknown men for unknown reasons. The Monzon-Serrano brothers followed the unknown men to Shoshone Lane where Rosales told Edgar Monzon-Serrano, “Get out of your vehicle or I’m going to kill you,” police said in the arrest report.

Rosales and the brothers fought, and Rosales fired several rounds, killing Edgar Monzon-Serrano, police said.

His cause of death was ruled a gunshot wound to the chest by the Clark County coroner’s office.

Rosales and Cortez drove off, but multiple neighbors gave statements to police and Rosales left his backpack at the scene. Police said nearly 5,000 grams of suspected cocaine were found inside the backpack.

Cortez was arrested Dec. 21 on a warrant and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and open murder with a deadly weapon. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court again Jan. 5.

A warrant issued in August is still outstanding for Rosales on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and open murder.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.