Las Vegas man fired 32 shots in attempt to kill teenager in ‘retaliation’ killing
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas man faces more than 30 charges after police said he attempted to kill a teenager in a “retaliation” killing sparked by a feud between his family and the victim’s, according to documents obtained by 8 News Now.
On March 11, shortly before 8:30 p.m., a man called 911 to report that he heard 20 gunshots near his home. Arriving officers found “numerous” cartridge casings in the road near the intersection of Fairchild Street and Washington Avenue. In total, they found 32 casings, the report stated.
Shortly after the first 911 call, another person called to report their friend was shot. The caller and the victim were in the parking lot of a gas station in the 300 block of Nellis Boulevard.
Officers arrived and found the victim was shot once in his left upper shoulder area. Medical personnel took him to a local hospital. The birth year of the victim indicates he was either 18 or 19 at the time.
Police said the victim’s car had “several” bullet holes in the front and driver’s side of the vehicle.
A witness told police that before the victim was shot, they were at a friend’s house hanging out for around half an hour before the victim left the home. As the victim approached the intersection of Washington and Fairchild, the witness heard gunshots.
The victim told police that as he was driving away from the home, an unknown person approached his truck and “suddenly” began shooting at him. The victim told police he ducked down below the windows and could not call 911 due to his hands having blood on them.
The witness said he ran to the corner and saw a green vehicle coming from the parking lot south of Washington. He told police he recognized the vehicle as “Jr’s” car, who he knew had a feud with the victim’s family due to a homicide from 2022.
Another witness identified “Jr.” as Jose Armas Jr., 21. Surveillance video from nearby showed a vehicle registered to Armas near the shooting location approximately 10 minutes before the shooting.
Minutes after the shooting, Armas’ truck can be seen on surveillance video “driving recklessly through a red light” away from the scene of the shooting, according to the report.
One witness told police he thought the shooting was in retaliation for the homicide. The victim’s father was charged with killing Armas’ uncle, the report stated. The jury trial in that case is scheduled to begin in August, court documents show.
A social media account police believed belonged to Armas showed Armas at a candlelight vigil for his uncle, with the caption “[EXPLETIVE] ANYONE THAT ROLLS WIT THAT [REDACTED] [EXPLETIVE] YOUR DEAD HOMIES [EXPLITIVE] YOUR HOLE [sic] FAMILY,” according to the report.
A video on the account, dated half an hour before the shooting, appeared to show someone sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle, stating, “Hey little [expletive] boy, where are you? Where are you little [expletive] boy? If you want to come out and play, I’m going to come wait by your house,” the report stated.
On May 18, detectives arrested Armas and took him into custody. In a search warrant of an address associated with Armas, police found several firearms.
When police asked Armas about the feud his family has with the victim’s family, Armas said he did not know anything about the feud. When asked about the death of his uncle, Armas said he did not know any details about his uncle’s death and did not know who killed his uncle, the report stated.
Armas continued to deny any involvement in the shooting and told police the social media account did not belong to him, despite police pointing out that photos on the account were of him and the name and date of birth on the account matched him.
When police read some of the posts from the social media accounts directed at the victim’s family, Armas “began to laugh loudly while rocking back and forth in his chair.” When police read him the list of charges he faced, Armas “gave little to no response.”
Armas faces one count of attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon, one count of battery with the use of a deadly weapon, and 32 counts of discharging a gun into an occupied structure or vehicle.
He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on a $250,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 23. If Armas makes bail, he will be required to be on high-level electronic monitoring, have no weapons in his possession, and have no contact with the victim.
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