Judge sets $1M bail for suspect in alleged road rage shooting
Updated December 24, 2024 - 3:00 pm
A Las Vegas judge has set a $1 million bail for a 20-year-old man accused of a possible road rage shooting from late 2023.
Police announced Monday that Jaxsyn Bunker has been charged with murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the shooting, which fatally injured a man.
Police were called to Escondido Street and Cactus Avenue on Oct. 29, 2023, to find a man suffering from an apparent gunshot wound inside a Kia Sportage, according a news release. The man was taken to a nearby hospital where he died “days later,” police said.
The victim was identified by the Clark County coroner’s office as Yilmaz Ogur, records show. He died at Sunrise Hospital on Nov. 1, 2023, from a gunshot wound to the head, and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the coroner’s office.
During a court hearing Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney Alfa Alemayehu argued for Bunker to be held without bail. She said the victim was found in a bullet-ridden car, and that witnesses reported hearing eight to nine shots.
She told the judge that Bunker saw news reports of the shooting and had instructed his girlfriend to change the license plate and remove stickers from a car to prevent it from being tied to the shooting.
Alemayehu said that Bunker’s mother had contacted police after hearing from his sister that he had shot and killed someone.
“When he ultimately spoke to police he denied all culpability,” Alemayehu said.
Bunker was already in custody at the Clark County Detention Center on unrelated charges when police announced he was tied to the road rage shooting. Court records show that he pleaded guilty on Dec. 11 to a felony count of attempted ownership or possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He was arrested for that case in November, according to court records.
Bunker’s criminal history also includes a 2022 conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery, court records show.
Alemayehu said that when Bunker was interviewed by police, he had a “laid back attitude,” even when he was told it was a murder investigation.
“He never asked who was killed, did not express any sort of remorse or sorrow, and he even laughed at one point,” Alemayehu said.
Bunker’s public defender, Sarah Hawkins, argued that prosecutors only have facts from a police report, and not evidence that he needs to be held without bail.
“He is absolutely entitled to bail and he is entitled to bail today,” Hawkins said.
Justice of the Peace Pro Tem Robert Walsh set bail for Bunker at $1 million, and ordered high-level electronic monitoring if he were to be released.
Earlier in the hearing, Hawkins had asked the judge to prevent media from taking photos of videos of her client, arguing that journalists had started photographing and videographing before the hearing started. The judge did not revoke the photographer and videographer’s access to the hearing.
Bunker is scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 7.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.