‘He’s one of the good ones’: UNLV student who was stabbed to death mourned

UNLV radio personality Yusuf Mosley was known to approach strangers and strike up conversations, according to a close friend.

Such was the case when Cliford Bowens met him in the dining hall of a U.S. Army base in South Korea, where the men were stationed in 2001.

Word had spread among the troops that the two resembled each other. “Are you the one who looks like me?” Mosley had said to Bowens. A friendship, which Bowens described as “the closest thing to a brotherhood,” flourished from there.

Over two decades later, an interaction with purported strangers would lead to Mosley’s death on Sept. 6. Now Bowens is mourning the loss of his friend.

“He’s one of the good ones,” Bowens told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I don’t question God, but I think he might have made a mistake on this one.”

Mosley, a 46-year-old Army veteran and UNLV urban studies student, was fatally stabbed in the early morning hours in the 4500 block of Paradise Road, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Stifling tears, Bowens said Mosley never called him by his government name, instead referring to him as “Little Bro” for the entirety of their friendship. Mosley was the best man in his wedding and godfather to his son, who is now in his 20s.

Punched ‘without provocation’

In the immediate aftermath of the stabbing, police said that they were looking for two suspects who fled the scene after a “physical altercation” in which Mosely was fatally attacked.

Isaiah Pierce, 34, was arrested on Sept. 21. The suspect was being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on a murder charge.

His arrest report said that Pierce and two acquaintances were chatting outside a pizzeria when Mosley approached the trio.

One of the men told detectives that Mosley had yelled something at them, but didn’t recall what, police said.

The witness said he then exchanged insults with Mosley and that a fight ensued, police said. Pierce threw the first punch “without provocation,” striking Mosley, said the witness and police, who cited surveillance footage.

The video also showed Pierce swing at Mosley with a knife before he and another man left the scene, according to the report. The witness stayed behind, called 911 and spoke to investigators.

He helped police identify the two other men, police said. Pierce was taken into custody after a traffic stop.

‘Stay positive’

“Yusuf was known for his laughter, positivity, and his gift for motivating others to stay hopeful and pursue their goals,” Mosley’s family wrote in a statement. “He was deeply loved, and his absence leaves and irreplaceable void.”

A visitation and service were held Wednesday and Thursdayin his native Jacksonville, Florida, according to an online obituary.

The family declined a media interview request.

Mosley’s life, through his 2022 move to Las Vegas, was highlighted in the online obituary. “From the very beginning, Yusuf’s personality was bold, courageous, and passionate,” it said.

Mosley ran track from middle school until he graduated high school in 1997, family said. He served four years in the Army, where he specialized in media production, the obituary said.

“Some people walk the walk and some people talk the talk,” Bowens said. “This guy did them both. He stayed positive and optimistic.”

After he left the military, Mosley went into the pharmaceutical industry, Bowens said. He found a new life in Las Vegas, where he returned to school, enrolling at UNLV and starting a faith-based organization, Gangstaz4God.

“At Gangstaz4God, we understand the struggles and challenges faced by individuals who have been involved in gang culture,” Mosley wrote in the organization’s website. “Our program offers a unique approach that combines mentorship, entrepreneurship, and faith-based guidance to support individuals in making positive changes in their lives.”

Radio personality missed

At the UNLV radio station, Mosley was known as “King Yu,” a disc jockey with a show that mixed music and interviews, including with boxing personalities, KUNV-FM operations manager Jason Beatty told the Review-Journal.

“He was always full of energy and full of smiles,” Beatty said.

Beatty began teaching Mosley radio one on one about a year ago and gave him his own dedicated two-hour time slot. Mosley, a “very excited and ambitious student” who started at the station with no radio experience, kept improving, Beatty said.

The death shocked and saddened the station, Beatty said. “We work with students every day and never think you’re going to lose one of them,” he said.

Mosley had shared positive messages on TikTok, where he had garnered more than 3,500 followers. About a year ago, he filmed himself from behind a radio microphone, bobbing to a hip hop song.

“You can do anything you want, man,” he said in the video. “Stay motivated, stay blessed. You’ve got this, man.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.