Rio stab victim, alleged attacker had prior altercation, police say

Police released new information Wednesday about the circumstances of a fatal stabbing earlier this month at a Las Vegas hotel.

Police arrested Nicholas Dove, 27, on Tuesday on suspicion of stabbing Carlos Polanco Garcia, 38, in a hotel room at the Rio, located in the 3700 block of West Flamingo Road, on Dec. 3.

Garcia died at University Medical Center just before 1 a.m from multiple stab wounds including to his neck and left flank, according to an arrest report from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Detectives used hotel surveillance to determine who was at the scene when the stabbing occurred. Garcia had been living in the hotel with a friend. Witnesses told police that Dove began quarreling over money and proceeded to rush toward Garcia and stab him, according to the report. Another person in the room at the time attempted to break up the fight unsuccessfully.

Two people told police that Garcia had a gun on him at the time of the stabbing but that he was unable to use it after he was stabbed.

Dove allegedly took the 9 mm pistol before leaving the room, the report stated.

A member of the Garcia’s family told police that Dove was in a dating relationship with a friend of Garcia, and that the two were involved in a physical fight about one or two weeks prior to the stabbing.

Dove’s fingerprints were on multiple surfaces in the hotel room, the report stated.

Dove was being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on a murder charge. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.