2 teens face murder charges in 2018 shooting in Las Vegas
Two teenagers were charged with murder this month in connection with a 2018 fatal shooting that happened when they were 15 and 16 years old, according to Las Vegas police documents.
Clark County Detention Center records show that 17-year-old Daniel Barron was booked into the jail Tuesday, after 16-year-old Alejandro Morales-Trejo was booked July 8. Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said Wednesday that both teenagers were arrested in the death of 24-year-old Jesus Montiel, who died two days after he was shot on Nov. 20, 2018.
According to jail booking logs, Morales-Trejo was 15 when the shooting happened, and Barron was 16. Both teenagers face felony charges of murder with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit murder, court records show.
About 11:40 a.m. Nov. 20, 2018, Montiel called 911 to report that he had been shot on a trail near a wash on the 3100 block of South Mojave Road, near Desert Inn Road, police said shortly after the shooting. Montiel, who was hospitalized at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, was initially expected to survive, but he died of his injuries on Thanksgiving Day.
Montiel’s death was ruled a homicide due to a gunshot wound of the abdomen, the Clark County coroner’s office said.
After the 24-year-old’s death, Metro announced that detectives were searching for two suspects. Detectives believed that Montiel was walking in the wash when he was approached by two males who had a short conversation with him, police have said.
One of the suspects then shot Montiel, police said. It was unclear Wednesday if Barron or Morales-Trejo was suspected of being the shooter.
Court records show that both teenagers remained in custody on Wednesday, Barron with $150,000 bail and Morales-Trejo without bail.
Barron is due to appear in court on Monday, and Morales-Trejo has an initial appearance scheduled for Tuesday.
Further information about the teenagers’ arrests was not immediately available.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
