Teen to be tried as adult in fatal NLV shooting
A 15-year-old will be tried as an adult in the killing of another teen, a judge decided Tuesday.
Eddwin Ramos-Figueroa’s mother sobbed quietly in the back of a Family Court hearing while a prosecutor argued that her 16-year-old son was killed in retaliation for a robbery.
Ramos-Figueroa was shot in the back on April 5 on the 2600 block of Donna Street, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Summer Clarke said Tuesday that Gabriel Ayala went home to get a gun after he was beaten and robbed by a group of boys.
Clarke argued that Ayala could have called the police to report the assault, or he could have gone to the hospital to seek medical attention instead of heading back outside to open fire.
“Gabriel at that time was not in danger, his life was not being threatened, he was in no danger of immediate bodily harm,” Clarke said. “You can’t go chasing someone down with a gun because they beat you up and robbed you earlier.”
Ayala had been placed on probation in August in Family Court for one count of carrying a concealed weapon.
Defense attorney Matthew Stromenger said Ayala had been assaulted multiple times, and he feared for the safety of his family. The boys who assaulted him were waiting outside Ayala’s apartment complex that morning, Stromenger said.
Just before ordering Ayala transferred to the Clark County Detention Center, Family Court Judge Amy Mastin echoed Clarke’s argument that Ayala could have stayed home and called the police.
“The plan appears to have been for his mother to drive him to the hospital,” Mastin said. “That never happened. Instead, his mother drove him and upon sighting or finding the person who committed the assault against him, Gabriel got out of the car and shot this person in the back as they were trying to leave. There were options available to him.”
Ayala’s mother shook her head as Mastin spoke.
Mastin also ordered a detainer, meaning if another judge releases Ayala on bail, he would be transferred back to the Juvenile Detention Center because of the previous gun charge.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.