Police make two arrests in slaying of man found in trunk of his car

A man arrested Friday on charges of killing 51-year-old Salvador Gonzalez and leaving his body in the trunk of a car was involved with a woman who said Gonzalez tried to sexually assault her, according to a police report.

Jose Fernandez, 29, was jailed on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the stabbing death of Gonzalez, who was found Thursday wrapped in a shower curtain in the trunk of his Ford Escort on Kyle Canyon Road near Mount Charleston.

Gonzalez's family had reported him missing earlier in the week.

The report said Fernandez told police he fought with Gonzalez on April 21 in a bedroom at a home at 6321 Balch Spring Court, near Centennial Parkway and Simmons Street in North Las Vegas, after Gonzalez tried to sexually assault Fernandez's girlfriend, Tiffany Orta.

But Gonzalez left the home alive after the fight, Fernandez told police.

Orta told police that Gonzalez came to her home to deliver methamphetamine she had bought from him, and he then tried to have sex with her, the report said. While this was happening, Fernandez and another man, 24-year-old Willie Rojas, came into the residence and attacked Gonzalez. Orta said she then left the residence with her roommate. When she returned, she said, she saw blood on the bedroom carpet. Her bedding and shower curtain were missing.

Police said they think Gonzalez's slaying occurred at the home.

On Saturday, detectives with a fugitive task force arrested Willie Rojas, also known as Yeshua Rosas, in Colton, Calif.

Las Vegas police did not indicate what specific charges that Rojas would face but said he would be extradited to Las Vegas to face charges in the slaying.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.