Unpaid drug debt led to fatal shooting of Las Vegas man, police say
A Las Vegas man was killed after meeting up to exchange drug money in the driveway of a vacant house, according to a new report from the Metropolitan Police Department.
Jose Venegas, 28, was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of 23-year-old Reynaldo Alvarez, according to an arrest report released Wednesday. Alvarez was found around 2 p.m. March 14, in the driveway of an empty house on the 1400 block of Newport Street.
Witnesses told police that Alvarez and Venegas were drug dealers but Venegas did not pay Alvarez back for a recent meth purchase, according to the arrest report.
A woman close to Alvarez said he went to the house to meet with Venegas. When he stopped answering her calls, the woman told police she went to the house and found him. The woman’s name and relationship to Alvarez were redacted from the report.
She told police that Alvarez was going to meet with “Blackie,” who she identified through a previous booking photo as Venegas, police said.
A woman who drove Venegas to the house said the two men were fighting when Alvarez pulled out a gun. The woman claimed Alvarez accidentally shot himself.
“She told Venegas they needed to call the police and get a lawyer,” police wrote in the report. “Venegas told her no and they stayed with a friend.”
Court records indicate Venegas had a nine-year history of violent crimes and gun possession, beginning with a citation for battery in 2013.
Most recently, court records show he pleaded guilty to attempted ownership of a firearm by a felon in December, and on Jan. 4 he was sentenced to two years of probation.
Venegas was interviewed by police on March 17 and said “he didn’t pull no trigger and didn’t kill anyone,” police wrote in the report.
He was arrested later that day and is being held without bail, according to jail records. He is expected to appear in court again May 10.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
