Fatal 7-Eleven shooting involved drugs, Las Vegas police say

A Las Vegas police document revealed the deadly shootout outside a 7-Eleven this month erupted after a drug trade turned into an armed robbery.

James Powell, 49, was killed in the shooting. Dominque Williams, who initially told police he was the victim of a robbery, was injured but eventually arrested on suspicion of murder and robbery.

Powell and Williams met in the parking lot of the convenience store at Sunset Road and Eastern Avenue sometime before 7:30 a.m. Nov. 10. According to Williams’ arrest report, the two had agreed on a trade: Powell would give 10 pain pills to Williams for money and marijuana.

But the trade inside Powell’s vehicle quickly turned into a firefight, the arrest report detailed, when Williams allegedly showed a weapon and told Powell, who had at least 40 pills, he was keeping all of them. Williams later told police he would not have committed the alleged robbery if he knew Powell was also armed, the report said.

Police found Powell with a gunshot wound to his neck. He died that day at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

Williams told police he drove away to a 7-Eleven on the 6400 block of South Pecos Road and threw his gun out the window because he was scared, according to his arrest report.

Williams, who suffered from multiple gunshot wounds, was hospitalized and on Nov. 21 was booked into the Clark County Detention Center. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16, jail records show.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.