Death penalty ‘an option’ for suspect in Strip shooting that killed 2

District Attorney Steve Wolfson said prosecutors will consider seeking the death penalty against the suspect in a shooting that killed two in front of the Bellagio Sunday after he appeared in court Thursday morning.

Manuel Ruiz, 41, turned himself in to Henderson police Monday. Police have said the shooting, which was livestreamed, stemmed from a long-running social media feud.

The Clark County coroner’s office identified the victims as 44-year-old Rodney Finley and 43-year-old Tanisha Finley.

“This is a case involving the death of two innocent people, and whenever we have a situation where two people are dead, needlessly, senselessly, it’s always an option and that will be something we’ll look at in the coming weeks,” Wolfson said when asked about the possibility of the death penalty.

The district attorney also insisted the Las Vegas Strip is still a safe place.

“These are isolated incidents,” he said.

In a hearing before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Amy Chelini, public defender Violet Radosta said Ruiz has not been able to talk to family about hiring a private lawyer but wants to do that. Radosta said she plans to file a written motion for her client’s bail.

Ruiz previously appeared in court Tuesday and was held without bail. He has said he acted in self-defense, though no guns were found at the scene and he fled after the shooting, according to police.

“I think it’s probably garbage,” Wolfson said of the self-defense claim. “There’s no indication from any of the evidence at all that self-defense would be a viable defense. No weapons were found near the victims, on the victims. Nobody at all, in all of the many interviews done on this case (with) eyewitnesses talked about either of these folks having weapons or even appearing to reach for a weapon.”

Ruiz faces two counts of murder with use of a deadly weapon, remains held without bail and is scheduled to return to court July 3.

Video of the shooting, apparently livestreamed by the Finleys moments before their deaths, has circulated on social media. The recording showed a woman confronting a man on the sidewalk near the Fountains of Bellagio. The shooter pulled out a handgun and fired at someone off-screen as the woman screamed and multiple gunshots rang out.

A police report said that Ruiz was with his wife, Juliana Pimentel, during the shooting, and they also had filmed the Strip minutes before the confrontation.

Pimentel told detectives Rodney Finley had said negative things about the YouTube page she and her husband ran, according to the report. She denied knowledge of a video in which Ruiz “was driving in his car and sounded like he was threatening someone and announcing his future locations to challenge that person to show up,” police said.

Pimentel could not be reached for comment.

Wolfson was noncommittal when asked about the possibility of Ruiz’s wife facing charges.

“It’s an ongoing investigation,” he said. “This just happened a few days ago.”

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.