NLV officer identified in Silver Nugget shooting

One victim is dead following a homicide, and one suspect is dead after an officer-involved shooting.

 

On May 19 around 5:43 a.m. officers responded to the Silver Nugget casino in the 2100 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North in response to a violent battery in progress.  

 

Dispatch received multiple calls that a person was possibly killed or being killed. 

 

Arriving officers were directed by employees to a back area of the building where they encountered an adult male suspect.  

 

The suspect was described as a person who was having an agitated chaotic episode.  After the suspect had refused to comply with commands, the officers used a less lethal weapon which failed to stop the suspect from attempting to attack them.  The suspect continued advancing towards officers aggressively when one officer discharged his weapon striking the suspect.  

 

That suspect was transported to UMC where he died.

 

Officers also located a man with apparent head trauma not far from where they encountered the suspect.  

 

Medical personnel declared that man deceased on scene. He died of blunt force head and neck trauma.

 

The preliminary investigation indicates that the homicide victim, a 64-year-old man, and the suspect, a 30-year-old man, were both employees of the casino.  The victim was identified as Edgardo Lavado Velasquez of North Las Vegas while the suspect was identified as 30-year-old Jeremias Cruz of Las Vegas. 

The preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect, an unarmed security guard at the casino, was attempting to pick fights with a few other employees before he focused his attention on the 64-year-old victim.   No words were exchanged before the suspect took the victim by his neck and led him out a back door.  The suspect was on top of the victim striking him when a second security guard attempted to come to the victim’s aid. That security guard was attacked by the suspect as well and sustained non-life threatening injuries before he escaped.

 

This was the first officer-involved shooting in North Las Vegas this year.  

 

The officer involved has been placed on routine paid administrative leave. The officer was identified as 22-year-old Rodrigo Delara. He has been with the department for one year and three months.