Search history leads to man’s arrest during murder investigation
A man Las Vegas police suspected of fatally shooting a man in the face looked up news stories about the shooting in the days following the homicide, police said.
Marvin Smith, 45, was charged with open murder and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the killing of 48-year-old Dion Southern on Oct. 3.
Police responded near North Rancho Drive and West Washington Avenue around 11 p.m. and found Southern dead. Witnesses said Smith and Southern’s girlfriend were in an argument and Smith pulled a gun on her, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest warrant.
When Southern confronted Smith about brandishing the gun, witnesses heard a gunshot and saw Smith seen fleeing from the area with another person. Police interviewed a relative of Smith, who said when he asked Smith why he carries a gun, Smith said, “to shoot somebody in the face,” the report read.
Police reviewed Smith’s online search history and found several searches on Oct. 5, Oct. 7 and Nov. 1 including “man shot and killed on bonanza and rancho Monday night.”
The warrant noted that in the 30 days prior to the shooting, Smith’s web history did not include any searches for homicide investigations or Las Vegas news.
Police arrested Smith on Thursday outside the Silver Nugget Casino in North Las Vegas.
Smith was due in court on July 3 and remains in custody without bail, court records show.
Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.
