LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — "Crime of opportunity."
Those are the words police used to describe an auto theft that resulted in a kidnapping, crash, and one person dead on Saturday.
It happened around 11 a.m. in the 4000 block of Charleston Boulevard, between Valley View and Decatur, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Authorities were responding to the report of a crash with injuries involving a black Hyundai Sonata and a silver minivan.
Crime
Suspect held on no bail in Las Vegas car theft that led to deadly crash
Lt. Monique Rodriguez said a man was apparently in the shopping center parking lot, napping inside the black Hyundai while it was still running. Authorities believe the driver of the vehicle had gone into the store, while the man was sitting in the passenger seat.
Watch the full briefing from Rodriguez here:
While the driver was inside the store, a suspect got into the vehicle and took the car with the passenger still inside.
As the suspect sped away, he hit the back of the silver minivan, police said.
The suspect received minor injuries in the crash and was taken to a local hospital.
The passenger in the Hyundai was taken to a local hospital with critical injuries and was later pronounced deceased. He has since been identified as 37-year-old Benito Saragosa, of Las Vegas.
The driver of the minivan reported minor injuries, and the passenger didn't report any injuries, police said. Both were taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
Rodriguez said the suspect will face charges of open murder and kidnapping.
-
Arrest report: Man shot bystander while trying to confront suspected car burglar
Francisco Chairez-Hernandez, 21, is accused of firing the shot that killed Karla Abarca, who police refer to as an "innocent bystander" sitting in a truck at the intersection of Bonanza and Lamb.
Testimony begins in trial of man accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur killing
Witness testimony began Monday, Aug. 17, in the trial of Duane "Keefe D" Davis, the man accused of orchestrating the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996.
A dispute about fact vs. fiction at the trial over Tupac's killing in Las Vegas
A prosecutor said Monday that while few have been willing to speak about the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is the “one person who has a hard time being silent.”
Suspect in custody after police vehicle hit during chase in North Las Vegas
It began around 1:14 a.m. in the area of Tonopah Drive and Lake Mead Boulevard, just west of the intersection with Martin Luther King Boulevard, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
