‘Always our protector’: Family of slain Las Vegas teen want juvenile suspects tried as adults

The family of a 17-year-old Las Vegas boy who police said was shot and killed Monday at an east valley park are calling for two juvenile suspects to be tried as adults, and for another teen who has already been charged to be denied bail when they appear in court next week.

Joined by attorney Ofelia Markarian and other relatives, the mother of Julio Bravo gave emotional testimony about the toll of her son’s death. Bravo, 17, died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, the Clark County coroner’s office said Thursday.

Julio Bravo was working toward his GED certificate and was working at an area Burger King restaurant at the time of his death, but had high hopes to one day join the military and eventually buy a mansion so that his family could move in with him, Maria Bravo said Friday.

“It’s just a hard time for our whole family having to live with this tragedy,” Bravo said, holding back tears. “He was going to take care of us, me and his sister. He was always our protector, and now he’s gone.”

Police said in an arrest report released Wednesday for one of the three teenagers suspected to be involved in the shooting that they were searching for parks for people to rob when they encountered Bravo and a female victim, who wasn’t identified by police, around 1 a.m. at a basketball court in East Las Vegas Family Park, located near East Washington Avenue and North Lamb Boulevard.

The Metropolitan Police Department so far has only identified one of the teen suspects, 17-year-old Jose Juarez, who according to Las Vegas Justice Court records made an initial appearance before Judge Kristal Bradford on Thursday and has a bail hearing on Monday.

Online court records shows Juarez was appointed a public defender, and he faces counts of open murder, attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon, attempted robbery, battery, and other gun charges.

A Metro spokesperson on Friday said other arrests were made, but because the suspects are juveniles, their names cannot be released unless the court certifies them as adults. A prosecutor told the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week the juveniles had hearings scheduled in Family Court. The Clark County district attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

According to Juarez’s arrest report, he and another suspect, as well as Bravo, exchanged about 15 rounds.

Arriving officers, first alerted by ShotSpotter, found the victim at the east end of one of the courts along with a handgun next to Bravo’s body, police said. A short time after the ShotSpotter notification, police also received a 911 call from the female victim, who had run into a neighborhood south of the park after shots were fired.

Police said the victim told investigators she and Bravo had gone to the park to smoke marijuana. They were sitting on a bench near the basketball court when Juarez and another boy, both of whom were wearing ski masks and holding a gun, approached, the report states.

Julio Bravo reportedly told the suspects they did not have any belongings before the suspects demanded the girl’s purse, according to her interview with detectives. Bravo, according to the girl, refused to give it to them, and the suspects reportedly said that if they didn’t get the bag then they were “going to grab (the girl) and take her.”

Police said the girl looked away, but heard seven gunshots before realizing she had been shot, along with one of the alleged robbers. Police said the suspects then tried to flee the area in a vehicle that belonged to one of the suspects’ mother.

Asked by police what police what led to the shooting, the alleged getaway driver said he had been driving around with Juarez and his other friend when they were low on fuel and had no money to purchase more, according to the arrest report.

The suspect reportedly told police Juarez was “trying to come up on a lick,” slang for committing a robbery, police said. At one point, one of the suspects suggested going to parks to rob people at gunpoint.

Maria Bravo said on Friday that memorial services for her son were pending, and Markarian said a GoFundMe fundraiser would soon be set up to help cover funeral expenses. Markarian said denying Juarez bail and charging the other suspects as adults was necessary for Bravo’s family to begin healing.

“They are a major, major danger to our community,” Markarian said. “We are going to be there every step of the way to make sure that every single of one of those defendants who contributed to taking Julio’s life will be held accountable.”

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky. Review-Journal staff writer Akiya Dillon contributed to this report.