Witnesses describe Strip shooting scene; suspect could face death penalty
A Las Vegas police officer told a grand jury that one of the victims of a fatal shooting in front of the Bellagio was still breathing when the officer approached him.
“He was still taking small gasps, not very strong,” testified Metropolitan Police Department officer Jeffrey Chavez. Chavez said he performed chest compressions, which paramedics eventually took over.
Body camera video that became a grand jury exhibit shows an officer telling the victim: “Stay with me.”
Manuel Ruiz, 41, was indicted last week on two counts of murder with use of a deadly weapon. Prosecutors accused him of killing Rodney and Tanisha Finley in the June 8 shooting.
The shooting was livestreamed, and police have said it stemmed from a social media feud. Ruiz and Rodney Finley were both YouTubers.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Mercer said in court Thursday that the case would be reviewed for the death penalty. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson previously said prosecutors would consider seeking death for Ruiz.
Public defender Violet Radosta said she had filed a motion to preserve evidence in Justice Court and planned to file a similar document in Ruiz’s current District Court case.
Young witness describes scene
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 12-year-old who witnessed the shooting of Rodney Finley testified to grand jurors that on the night of June 8, he was in Las Vegas with his family in a vehicle near the Bellagio.
“The lady that was with the guy, she started pushing the guy with the gun and it looked like she was protecting the other guy that didn’t have the gun,” he said. “And the guy took out his gun and then shot, the guy fell to the ground and then the woman backed up,” moving away from the man who had the gun.
Metropolitan Police Department officer Jake Peters testified he was assisting with a stop when he heard gunshots coming from the area of the fountains, ran across the street to the scene and tried to find the shooter.
The officer said the shooter ran past him. He “asked who was shooting and he looked in the direction of the victims and said they are or something along those lines,” he said.
Authorities: Accused claims self-defense
The female victim had a phone that was recording live. “I picked up the phone and asked if you knew this person to call their phone and the contact Mom called the phone,” Peters said.
“The mom stated that people were commenting Manny is coming for you or Manny is looking for you,” he added. “She described him as a Hispanic male with glasses, blue baseball jersey on and tan shorts.”
Authorities have said Ruiz has claimed he acted in self-defense, though no guns were found at the scene and he fled after the shooting.
Police said Ruiz told them he thought Finley was reaching for a gun and believed Finley’s wife also had a gun.
“When detectives confronted him about her injury to the back of her head, he claimed she must’ve turned,” his arrest report stated.
Metro homicide Detective Eric Solano said detectives learned from officers and surveillance that Ruiz may have thrown evidence away in a trash can. Police also found a jersey with what appeared to be blood on it and a holstered handgun, Solano testified.