LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas teenager has agreed to plead guilty after a deadly shooting at a hotel last March.
The incident happened on March 25, 2023 at the Platinum Hotel, which is a few blocks off the Las Vegas Strip. An arrest report states about 20 teenagers were there for a birthday party, which was being held in a single-bedroom suite.
Police said surveillance footage showed several vehicles arrive and the suspected shooter, identified as 15-year-old Sincere Smith, was seen pulling a firearm from his waistband and putting it into a backpack, which he brought inside. Several witnesses said at least eight people arrived at the suite and several were wearing ski masks. That's when witnesses told police they heard a sound like a "balloon pop" and they saw 17-year-old Omarion Wilson bleeding from his chest. He later died at the hospital.
Investigators stated one witness told them Wilson and Smith got into a fight during summer school in June 2022. Evidence led police to believe that Smith flew to Oakland, where his father lives, following the shooting. He was arrested in California on June 22, 2023 and brought back to Las Vegas to face charges.
Court records show Smith has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and will plead guilty, using an Alford plea. That means Smith is not admitting that he is guilty but is admitting there is enough evidence for a jury to find him guilty.
According to court records, Smith is scheduled to be in court for sentencing on March 7, 2024.
