A dash camera recorded an attempted robbery that led to an exchange of gunfire between two men, leaving one dead and the other wounded, according to police.
Robert Aguilar Jr., 39, faces one count of open murder and another of attempted robbery following a March 1 shooting in the east Las Vegas Valley.
Footage from a nearby vehicle showed Aguilar approaching Lake Mead and Nellis boulevards on a bicycle and having a short interaction with James Espinoza, 27, before the men shot at each other, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.
Police said officers found Espinoza shot on the sidewalk after several people called 911. He was pronounced dead on the scene. An online fundraiser posted by his sister said that Espinoza, who was a father, had left the store moments before he was killed.
Aguilar, who fled the scene, was found in the 5000 block of Kell Lane, “yelling in pain” shortly thereafter, according to police. Kell Lane is about a block south of the intersection where the shooting occurred.
Aguilar did not have a gun when officers found him and told police he had been mugged, according to the report. He was taken to the University Medical Center in critical condition.
Court records show that Aguilar was not transported to his March 4 court hearing because he was still hospitalized.
A witness, Pedro Valencia, told police that he had been talking with Espinoza, who went by “J,” when Aguilar pulled a gun on them. Valencia said that he had never seen Aguilar before and that neither he nor Espinoza had spoken to Aguilar during the interaction.
“The male immediately pulled a firearm from the right side of his waist, pointed it at J,and said, ‘Give me your s—-, fool,” Valencia said in the report. “He made another comment reference being serious and warning J that he would shoot him if he didn’t comply.”
Valencia said that Espinoza was open carrying and that Aguilar had tried to steal the gun.
Another witness, Luiz Gomez, said that he was stopped at a red light at the intersection when his vehicle was hit by gunfire. Gomez said he had not seen the shooting but saw Aguliar carrying a gun while fleeing on a bike afterward. Surveillance footage from a nearby Burger King also showed Aguilar “slumped over” the bike, driving southbound on Nellis.
Aguilar, who is being held without bail, is due in court again next Wednesday.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.
