Man accused of opening fire at wake in valley’s 1st homicide of 2021
A man is suspected of fatally shooting a rival gang member during a memorial party early New Year’s Day, new records show.
Aaron Thomas, 34, was arrested Jan. 22 on charges of murder with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm inside an occupied building, according to North Las Vegas court records.
Officers were called at 4:16 a.m. on Jan. 1 to a party on the 3400 block of North Bruce St., where Lazareo Jones was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to North Las Vegas police and the Clark County coroner’s office. His death at University Medical Center marked the first Las Vegas Valley homicide this year.
According to a newly released arrest report, witnesses told police that Thomas and Jones were among a group of gang members from several rival gangs who had gathered at a motorcycle club for the memorial party. But no one would provide information on what led to the shooting.
Instead, local informants tipped investigators off to a video circulating from the memorial that reportedly showed several other guests, including a woman who was later detained on unrelated charges.
From jail, the woman told police that Thomas and Jones were members of rival gangs, and that the two were seen in an argument before Jones, 31, was shot, according to the report.
Thomas has prior felony convictions in District Court on charges of grand larceny in 2003, 2004 and 2014. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court again Feb. 11.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.