Angry ex fatally shot man for holding hands with woman, police say

A man fatally shot a man he saw holding his ex-girlfriend’s hand near a North Las Vegas park, police said.

Noe Montoya, 30, was arrested last week in connection with the death of 36-year-old Salamon Castillo, who was found dead at Dillon Avenue and North Bassler Street, near Joe Kneip Park, around 6:35 p.m. on June 17.

Castillo died from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the coroner’s office.

Police reviewed video surveillance that showed a vehicle flee the scene and a woman walk away from where the shooting occurred. After images of the vehicle and woman were released via the media, police used tips from the public to identify Montoya as the man who shot Castillo, according to a North Las Vegas Police Department arrest report.

Two days after the media release, Montoya was arrested and told police he was in a relationship with the woman for eight years but that they had separated. They had recently made up, but on June 17, she was not returning his calls or texts.

According to the report, Montoya went looking for her and found her near the park with a man who was later identified as Castillo. He told police seeing them holding hands made him angry and he confronted them while he had a gun in his pocket.

During the argument, Montoya said Castillo reached for his waistband and Montoya only remembered firing the gun once. He admitted to taking stickers off his vehicle to evade police and initially said he threw the gun into Lake Mead before saying he sold it.

Montoya was charged with open murder and is due in court on July 19. He remains in custody without bail.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.