Man arrested in unprovoked stabbing of homeless man

Las Vegas police arrested a man Thursday in connection with an unprovoked stabbing in the east valley.

James Vaughn, 26, was arrested on a warrant and booked on one count of open murder, according to court records.

Vaughn is accused of stabbing 40-year-old Benjamin Orleans in the chest on Nov. 5, according to an arrest report from the Metropolitan Police Department released Friday afternoon.

Officers were initially called around 5 p.m. that day to a field on the 2700 block of East Cedar Avenue, near Bonanza Road and Eastern Avenue, police said at the time.

Witnesses told police that Orleans was pushing a shopping cart to the homeless encampment. When he attempted to fix a broken wheel, Vaughn rode up on a bicycle and stabbed Orleans before riding off, witnesses said.

The police report indicates multiple “concerned citizens” also identified Vaughn.

Vaughn pleaded guilty to robbery with use of a deadly weapon in 2017 and was sentenced to two years in the Nevada Department of Corrections, according to District Court records.

He is scheduled to appear in court again Monday.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.