North Las Vegas man killed after squabble over $10 debt

A North Las Vegas man was killed after a quarrel over a $10 debt, court documents say.

A recently released arrest report for Richard Gomez’s alleged shooter, 32-year-old DeAndre Rhone, details the moments leading up to the single gunshot that killed Gomez on Aug. 28 — including a brief confrontation between the two in a parking lot at 1520 Eastern Ave.

Gomez was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 55.

Witnesses told Las Vegas detectives that the two men had briefly argued over Rhone’s $10 debt to Gomez just before Rhone was seen taking off. Rhone was identified as the suspect by several witnesses in the area who knew him only as “Dre.”

Investigators would later learn that Rhone had walked home and changed out of his basketball shorts and into pants before allegedly arming himself with a large-caliber firearm, the Metropolitan Police Department arrest report said. He returned to the Eastern Avenue parking lot about 10 minutes later, police said.

Rhone’s pants, detectives described in their report, was “more capable of supporting the weight” of the weapon.

Police further supported this theory by drawing differences in Rhone’s gait when he was thought to be armed versus unarmed. They were able to observe his movements in security footage captured in the surrounding area before and after the shooting, the report said.

“When Rhone was wearing the basketball shorts, both of his arms swung freely back and forth matching the strides of his legs,” one detective documented in the report. “After Rhone changed into the long pants, he braced his right hand against his right hip and his right arm did not swing in stride like his left arm.”

At least two witnesses picked Rhone as the suspected shooter in photo lineups, the report shows.

Officers initially detained the wrong suspect, who police said was seen leaving the area shortly after the shooting. He was later released.

Rhone was arrested Monday on a murder charge and was being held without bail Saturday at the Clark County Detention Center. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Oct. 4, jail records show.

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