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Roommate faces murder charge after body found in east Las Vegas

Updated July 8, 2019 - 3:24 pm

A 29-year-old man stands accused of murder following the discovery of a body Saturday morning in the east Las Vegas Valley.

Booking and jail records identify Joshua Martinez, 29, as a suspect in killing of a person whose body was found near Hollywood Boulevard and Desert Inn Road. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on one count of murder with a deadly weapon, as well as a charge of failing to obey sex offender registry laws.

At 4:39 a.m. Saturday, the Clark County Fire Department responded to reports of a burning vehicle on the 3300 block of Greenwood Springs Drive. After the fire was extinguished, firefighters found a body on the passenger floorboard, according to a Metropolitan Police Department release.

Metro homicide detectives responded to the scene and learned the victim may have lived on the 4900 block of East Hidalgo Way. Officers went to the residence and contacted Martinez, who was the victim’s roommate, the release said.

After uncovering evidence that the murder apparently occurred at the residence, officers arrested Martinez for one count of murder with a deadly weapon.

The victim’s identity as well as cause and manner of death have yet to be released by the Clark County coroner’s office.

Metro police advise that anyone with information regarding this incident should contact the Metro homicide section at 702-828-3521 or homicide@lvmpd.com. Residents may also call crime stoppers at 702-385-5555 to remain anonymous.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter. Review-Journal intern Amanda Bradford contributed to this report.

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