Teen identified as triggerman in Las Vegas execution-style killing
Las Vegas police say a 16-year-old was the triggerman in an execution-style shooting of a man gunned down for no apparent reason in east Las Vegas.
Steven Arenas, 16, is identified in an arrest report as the person who shot and killed Brett Addona, 26, of Las Vegas, in the 2600 block of East Bonanza Road, near Eastern Avenue, on March 14. Police said two men, Eduardo Martinez, 17, and Hugo Martinez Lopez, 19, participated in the slaying as well. All three are in custody at the Clark County Detention Center on murder and other charges.
Las Vegas police homicide and gang detectives investigated Addona’s slaying. Detectives said Addona and another man were loading items into Addona’s vehicle in an apartment complex at 2751 Bonanza Road at 7:40 p.m. when they noticed a trio of males circling. The police report quoted Addona as telling his friend “I think we have a problem with these kids out here.”
The trio then approached Addona and his friend, and one said, “I heard ya’ll were giving my boy a hard time.”
Addona’s friend said they’d never seen the three assailants before and they told the trio they didn’t know what they were talking about. One of the assailants then used a racial slur and an expletive while saying:
“Man, you know what … get on your knees and I’m killing both of you (expletive) right now. Execution-style.”
One of the assailants was holding what was described as a .22-caliber handgun. The gunman kept ordering the men to get on their knees. Addona’s friend immediately fled, but Addona remained. Gunshots rang out. Addona died at the scene.
The three suspects were identified as a result of gang detectives investigating a prior robbery case in the same neighborhood. Police also used video surveillance in the case to identify the suspects, linking clothing worn by suspects in the video to clothing worn by the suspects when they were arrested by North Las Vegas police.
Police obtained a search warrant for the apartment in the complex where Arenas lived with his parents, the report said. They recovered a .22-caliber firearm and ammunition, the latter with a similar stamp on it as casings found at the crime scene.
“Steven’s father stated the pistol belonged to an older son who had been deported,” an arrest report states. “He had owned the weapon for approximately five years and recently (two to four months ago) purchased ammunition for the pistol. The kids did not know where the gun was kept.”
Las Vegas Justice Court records show the three suspects are charged with open murder and conspiracy to commit murder. All three are being held without bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
