Man facing murder charge after punching man at Las Vegas car show
A man arrested because of facial recognition software in January was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday for murder and battery, according to court documents.
Ernesto Cortez, 38, was arrested Jan. 8 and charged with battery resulting in substantial bodily harm, but the courts later added one count of murder after the man police said Cortez punched at a car show died, according to court records.
The Metropolitan Police Department identified Cortez through facial recognition technology and surveillance footage of a man punching another at a car show near UNLV on Nov. 23, according to Cortez’s arrest warrant. The type of facial recognition used was not specified.
The victim, Gabriel Aguilera-Vaca, was found by his son lying on the ground with blood around his head at the car show. His son took him to University Medical Center, where Aguilera-Vaca had brain surgery but was not expected to survive at the time of Cortez’s arrest. It is unclear when Aguilera-Vaca died.
Cortez was previously indicted in 2014 for possession of a firearm by a felon, which stemmed from a felony conviction in 2010 of possession of stolen property, according to District Court and Las Vegas Justice Court records.
Cortez is being held pending a hearing Aug. 6, according to court records.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.