Man allegedly shot by Las Vegas store clerk identified

The Clark County coroner’s office has identified a man who was allegedly shot and killed by a store clerk on Thursday in central Las Vegas.

He was 33-year-old Justin Fink, the coroner’s office said. The Metropolitan Police Department announced Friday that the store clerk, 30-year-old Fahd Dayani, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Police were called about 6:05 p.m. after a silent alarm was triggered at at smoke shop at 2466 E. Desert Inn Road, Metro said. When officers arrived, they found Fink outside the store, suffering from a gunshot wound.

He was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he died. His death was ruled a homicide due to a gunshot wound of the chest, the coroner’s office said.

Homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said at the time that the victim was caught trying to shoplift, but the shop’s owner initially gave officers a different account, saying that a fight broke out in the store between two people before she heard a “loud bang” and hit the store’s alarm, according to Dayani’s arrest report. Dayani was not at the scene when police arrived.

Police initially were told that Fink had been shoplifting. But Spencer said Tuesday that the shoplifting allegation came from a store employee and police have “been unable to substantiate it.”

The owner told police that she recognized Fink as he entered the store and asked him to leave, the report said. The owner said she let another man behind the counter to purchase “a water bong,” and the other man also asked Fink to leave.

Surveillance footage showed the second man shooting Fink before he left the store, the report said.

“(The owner) indicated her nephew, Fahd, helped in the store but he was not there at the time of the shooting,” the report said. “(She) was asked several times if she knew the identity of the second male and she continually said no.”

However, police identified the shooter as Dayani based on the surveillance footage, the report said.

When searching Dayani’s home, police found “clippers and hair clipping(s),” indicating he had “attempted to change his appearance,” the report said. Dayani declined to speak with detectives without an attorney.

Dayani faces a charge of murder with a deadly weapon. He remained in the Clark County Detention Center on Tuesday without bail, court records show.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.