Police arrest one of 2 suspects in double homicide near downtown Las Vegas

Las Vegas police have arrested one of two suspects in a double homicide that occurred last week near downtown.

Metropolitan Police Department detectives arrested Durwin Allen, 31, on Monday in connection with the two deaths.

Officers found Myron Manghum, 33, and Alyssa Velasco, 27, dead in an apartment on the night of Jan. 18. Manghum died of a gunshot wound to the head, police said; Velasco died of gunshot wounds to the head and neck.

Officers were initially dispatched at 10:35 p.m. to the 700 block of McWilliams Avenue for reports of a man shot. According to an arrest report, “officers followed a fresh blood trail” back to the apartment on the 900 block of West Washington Avenue, where Manghum and Velasco were found. The man, who was shot in his hands, was treated at University Medical Center.

Velasco’s brother, Brandon Barnes, told police he was on the phone with her during the shooting. Barnes reportedly heard his sister screaming, “No, no, no!”

Police said Allen and another man were at the apartment earlier in the evening and allowed back into the residence, which neighbors said is used as a site for narcotics sales. An argument over drugs ensued between the three victims and two others before “they just started shooting,” Metro Lt. Dan McGrath said.

Two pizza boxes were found while homicide detectives investigated the 0.2 mile blood trail. According to the report, detectives saw Manghum buying pizza with a man, later identified as Allen by Manghum’s girlfriend, and the surviving victim.

Manghum’s girlfriend told police she was with him about 8:30 p.m. When she dropped him off at his apartment just before 10 p.m., she also saw Allen at the apartment. The man shot in his hands also identified Allen as the man who shot him and Manghum.

In the bedroom where Velasco was found dead, detectives found two different-caliber cartridge casings, the report said. The surviving victim recalled seeing two handguns on Manghum throughout the day, but no firearms were found on Manghum or at the scene.

Allen was taken into custody without incident on the 2700 block of North Rainbow Boulevard, Metro said in a statement Tuesday. He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center.

Allen is accused of two counts of murder with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery, attempted murder with a deadly weapon, battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a controlled substance.

The second suspect, who is still at large, is described as a black man in his 20s, approximately 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. Anyone with information is urged to call Metro’s homicide section at 702-828-3521.

These mark the ninth and 10th homicides investigated by Metro and the 11th and 12th in Clark County in 2017.

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