Teen killed boy outside NLV mini-mart after confronting others inside, report says
A teenager arrested in the slaying of another boy outside a North Las Vegas mini-mart confronted several people inside the store and appeared intoxicated before the shooting, according to witnesses interviewed by police.
Leonardo Nolasco, 17, was arrested and booked into the North Las Vegas Community Correctional Center on one count of open murder with a deadly weapon, according to court records provided Tuesday.
According to North Las Vegas police, Nolasco was the shooter in an early June homicide where officers found a 17-year-old boy unresponsive outside a grocery store in the 3100 block of East Lake Mead Boulevard. A police spokesperson previously said that the suspect in the shooting, who was later identified as Nolasco, fled the scene before police arrived.
The Clark County Coroner’s office has since identified the victim as Alfraido Zeyouma. A GoFundMe page posted by the boy’s family said that he was “shot 6 times for nothing.”
Alfraido’s sister, Elizabeth Zeyouma, noted in the description that Alfraido loved to play basketball and looked forward to celebrating what would have been his 18th birthday on Tuesday.
‘Felt outnumbered’
Before Alfraido Zeyouma was shot outside the front of the business, about nine kids were shopping inside the store, according to the clerk’s statements to investigators. She said she noticed that one of the shorter boys wore a black ski mask over his face.
Investigators later determined that the boy with the face covering was the shooter, police said in the arrest report.
“(The clerk) stated that the suspect was confronting several people inside the store and acting strangely,” the report read. “She believed he was possibly intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics. (She) went on to say that the suspect was confronting other customers and telling them that he knew them from a party he had attended.”
According to another witness who was not named in the report, Nolasco was trying to start an argument with Zeyouma, who “laughed it off,” and instead attempted to remain peaceful. At some point, the witness added, Nolasco asked Zeyouma if he was affiliated with a gang.
Once outside, Nolasco lifted his shirt, showing off a handgun near his waistband, the report said.
The witness told police that he felt like he was “being outnumbered,” so he fled, according to the report. The witness said that he heard four to five gunshots while running away.
Nolasco’s arrest report said that in 2023, he had been charged with battery and disturbing the peace on two separate events. He is expected in court next Tuesday, online records show.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.