Las Vegas murder suspect told police he acted in self-defense
A Las Vegas man arrested on a murder charge Sunday told police he acted in self-defense.
Peter Caris, 67, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon. He is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 16.
Las Vegas police were called to the Royal Ridge Mobile Home Estate, located at 5139 Ridge Ave., near Decatur Boulevard and Harmon Avenue, Sunday morning to investigate calls about gunshots and a man lying in the street.
Officers found the body of Dennis Aaron Davis, 33, of Las Vegas with multiple gunshot wounds.
Witnesses in the complex told officers they heard yelling and several shots and saw a man walking down the road with a gun in his hand, according to an arrest report.
During an interview with police, Caris said Davis had been banging on his front door and yelled at him to “leave (his) people alone” and threatened to kill Caris if he did not, according to the arrest report.
Caris said Davis was standing in his driveway and reached toward a gun he had in his waistband.
“I just blanked out, I just snapped, I had a gun in my hand, I shot him, and I just kept shooting, it’s just a blur, that’s what happened,” Caris said, according to the arrest report.
Davis never pointed the gun at Caris, but Caris said he got scared when he saw the weapon.
“I seen the gun, I took a shot, I kept shooting, walking and shooting,” Caris told police.
According to the arrest report, Caris fired 14 shots at Davis, striking him in the chest, arms, legs and back. Officers recovered a casing in Caris’ driveway, four casings at the bottom of the driveway, and nine casings within 15 feet of Davis’ body. The arrest report said Caris tailed Davis for 40 feet before the man dropped to the ground.
A Las Vegas police officer found a black handgun in a holster on Davis’ body. It was later found to be a pellet gun, according to the arrest report.
Las Vegas attorney Anthony Goldstein was assigned to represent Caris. Goldstein could not be reached for comment Friday.
Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Follow @WesJuhl on Twitter.
