Man arrested after North Las Vegas roommate’s slaying had history of landlord disputes
The man North Las Vegas police arrested Friday after he told detectives he planned both attacks on his roommates — one of whom died — and “did not feel bad about it” has a history of roommate and landlord issues, according to court records.
Sean Szymborski, 23, was taken into custody in connection to the 11:45 a.m. attacks that day, which left Peter H. Stebbins, 55, dead and another roommate, 71, badly injured, North Las Vegas police said.
According to court records, Szymborski was served an eviction notice in December from his Henderson apartment after his landlord told authorities Szymborski destroyed property, kept his unit generally unclean and threatened, abused and harassed the landlord and neighbors.
In 2013, Szymborski’s father, Lee, now 68, pressed charges against his son after he said Szymborski caused more than $5,000 in damages to his property, which he shared with another roommate.
At the time, Szymborski underwent a competency evaluation and passed. He was ordered to attend impulse control classes in connection to his attention deficit disorder and pay $1,100 in restitution before his father ultimately dropped the case against his son.
Before the case was dropped, Szymborski completed the classes, records show.
On Friday, police were called to the 4400 block of Nestos Valley Avenue for a disturbance call at a home where Szymborski was renting a room. When officers arrived, they found Stebbins dead upstairs and the 71-year-old injured in the living room.
A police report details the roommates’ injuries: Stebbins, whom the coroner’s office said died from asphyxiation and manual strangulation, was found unresponsive and bloody with “signs of trauma.” He was handcuffed, his legs were bound with towels and clothes, and his face and mouth were wrapped with duct tape and topped with a trash can.
Stebbins worked in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s packaging center.
The 71-year-old who was left downstairs was also handcuffed — “so tightly that the cuffs had to be cut off by Fire Department personnel,” the report read.
His face and mouth were also wrapped with duct tape — about six times, the report read — and his injuries ranged from a removed upper lip, at least two missing teeth, at least three lacerations inside his mouth and bruising of the brain.
Szymborski told detectives the roommates “kept messing with me and picking on me,” adding that he “snapped” that morning but planned the attacks and acted alone.
He also said none of the men attacked him, adding they “got what they (expletive) deserved,” the report read.
Szymborski is being held without bail on charges including one count of first-degree murder, one count of domestic battery with substantial bodily harm and two counts of first-degree kidnapping, according to North Las Vegas Police.
Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Find her on Twitter: @rachelacrosby
