1 suspect in fatal Pahrump shooting surrenders to police

UPDATE: Authorities in Nye County said one of the three suspects wanted in connection with a fatal shooting at a “Movies in the Park” event surrendered to police.

In an update shared on Facebook, authorities said that Carlos Blakely surrendered to authorities on Monday afternoon.

This is a breaking news update. The original story appears below.

“I’m lost,” began Mari Ausiello. “I’m torn. My heart is shattered.”

Ausiello was speaking to the media on Monday morning as representatives from local publications and TV stations gathered to hear an update from Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill on the fatal shooting that occurred Saturday night at Ian Deutch Memorial Park following a Movies in the Park event. Ausiello’s son, Joey Perry, was killed in that shooting.

Three suspects have been identified by NCSO and all are still at large.

“So this is a a plea for assistance from a community and from the media,” McGill said.

“On July 5, at about 10:00 p.m., a shooting took place at the Ian Deutch Park in Pahrump, Nevada,” McGill said. “There was a what is referred to as ‘movie in the park’ taking place with dozens of people in the park, including small children. This movie in the park, for those of you who may not know what it is, is a large movie screen, and people bring their chairs and blankets and sit in the park and watch a movie. Usually children’s movies.”

McGill said a fight took place during the movie. “We are not sure about what started the fight in the first place, or if the fight is even involved in the shooting itself,” McGill noted. “The fight was no longer going on at the time that the deputies arrived. They had stopped fighting. So the deputies were not even aware of who was involved in the fight at the time.”

As the fight was happening, a witness reported hearing what she initially believed to be firecrackers.

“This was on July 5, the day after July 4th,” McGill said. “So it would not be out of the ordinary.”

McGill reported that NCSO deputies arrived, the fight broke up, and deputies left the park.

“A witness saw three males (who were involved in the fight) leave in a red vehicle, which was later identified as a Chevy Camaro,” McGill continued. “This witness saw a vehicle back out of the parking lot and drive a short distance. She then heard what she described as automatic gunfire, and the vehicle left at a high rate of speed.”

McGill said another witness who was interviewed knew one of the suspects, who was identified as Carlos Blakely, 18, a Pahrump resident and 2024 Pahrump Valley High School graduate.

“This witness knows that Blakely commonly carries firearms to include a fully automatic Glock handgun,” McGill said. When asked to clarify because Glock does not make or sell fully automatic weapons, McGill said, “It would be manufactured as a semi-automatic and modified, altered illegally to be fully automatic.”

According to the sheriff, “Perry was transported by private vehicle to Desert View Hospital and was later found to have sustained four gunshot wounds. He sustained three gunshots to the back of his body and one to his neck. He was pronounced deceased at the hospital.”

Initial reports said that another person had been injured in the melee, but McGill said on Monday that no one else was injured and addressed rumors that Perry may have been targeted in the attack.

“I have seen a mention that there was a comment made that a green light was put on Joey,” McGill said in response to a question about targeting. “For what reason? I don’t know. That information just came to my attention this morning, and I will check with the detectives to see if they’re aware of that.”

In addition to Blakely, McGill said that deputies are seeking Anthony Aguilar, 17 years of age, and Fabian Ferrante, 19. McGill reported that at least two of the at-large suspects are Pahrump residents and that the third has a family connection to Pahrump and may have formerly lived in town. He did not specify which of the suspects were known to be Pahrump residents.

Brandon Port, 18, was initially identified by NCSO as a suspect, however, McGill said that Port had surrendered himself voluntarily on Sunday and had been interviewed and was no longer considered a suspect.

Responding to a question asking if sheriff deputies had considered shutting down the park due to the fight, McGill said, “It’s a public park, so people frequent the park. The kids go to the skate park. Other people frequent that park with their dogs and play ball and other people bring their kids to the little jungle gym things. So it’s not out of the ordinary for people to be at that park at all hours of the day or night. So there really would be no reason for us to have shut it down.”

Arnold Knightly, public communications manager for Nye County, announced in an email on Monday that, “Due to the tragic event which occurred last Saturday evening, and out of an abundance of caution, the Town of Pahrump will be suspending the “Movies in the Park” events starting this Saturday, July 12, until further notice.”

On Sunday morning at about 2 a.m., sheriff deputies and SWAT were dispatched to a home in the area of Homestead and Pleasant Valley with a search warrant for at least one of the suspects. According to McGill, sheriffs recovered the red Camaro at that time, but none of the suspects were on the premises. McGill reported that the Camaro is registered to “Blakely and his family.”

“We are getting assistance from the United States Marshal Service in locating and arresting these suspects,” McGill said. “The NCSO is asking the community and media for assistance in locating these suspects. Also, if anyone has video or photos, which may show any of the incident, we ask that you send these to the email address of sheriff@NyeCountyNV.gov. Anyone within information which could help in locating these suspects is strongly encouraged to call NCSO at (775) 751-7000, option number five. Or you can call Nevada Crimestoppers at (702) 385-5555 and there could be a cash reward.”

“My baby didn’t deserve this,” Ausiello said through tears. “Please turn yourselves in. Don’t make them come searching for you. You did this to my baby. Be brave enough to come and face the consequences.”

A previous version stated two people were shot. NCSO clarifies there was only one victim.

This is a developing story. Please check later for updates as they become available.