Driver testifies in case of 11-year-old killed in Las Vegas shooting
The men used a GPS on the night of the shooting that killed 11-year-old Angelina Erives, their getaway driver testified he told police in court Wednesday.
But authorities have said the shooters still targeted the wrong house, thinking it belonged to rival gang members.
Isaac George, 26, is the subject of an ongoing death penalty trial in connection with the November 1, 2018, shooting. Four other men have also been accused, but prosecutors have said it was George who fired the shot into Erives’ head.
One of the suspects, Erin Hines, now 24, took the stand and gave brief answers under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Pamela Weckerly. Hines confirmed he had made an agreement with prosecutors: “testimony for a lighter sentence” of 15 to 45 years.
He told jurors he was driving as the group of men traveled to North Las Vegas for the shooting. He indicated Damion Dill used a GPS to direct him, then said George knew the directions, but Dill gave them to him.
The group eventually reached a residential neighborhood, Hines said, and he turned off the lights on the car. Three of the men, including Dill and George, exited the car with guns.
“They start shooting,” said Hines. He couldn’t recall how many shots were fired, but prosecutors have said the total was 43 bullets.
George took notes as Hines spoke.
Court records indicate Dill pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 20- to 50-year prison sentence in 2019.
Hines said he tried to drive quickly from the neighborhood in the aftermath, but noticed Guy Lee Banks III, one of the men accused in the killing, had been shot.
A neighbor had fired at the getaway vehicle as it fled.
Banks’ condition was concerning, Hines said, and he pulled over. He asked a woman he didn’t know to call an ambulance for Banks, he told jurors. Prosecutors played a 911 call tape in which a woman and Hines spoke to a calltaker, who instructed them to provide chest compressions.
Banks ultimately died.
On cross examination from George’s attorney, Ozzie Fumo, Hines testified he left school the afternoon of November 1, 2018, then met up with Banks. Hines said he did not know George and met him for the first time the night of the shooting. It was Dill who told him where to go and who to pick up, said Hines.
Hines hung out with his friends and smoked marijuana, he confirmed.
“So your mind is a little altered by that time?” Fumo asked him. “It’s nice and calm?”
“You could say so,” replied Hines.
Fumo also pointed out that Hines did not previously tell police the truth.
Hines confirmed that in one statement to police, he made up the name of one of the people involved because he didn’t know the real name.
George faces nearly 50 charges, including murder with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder, and discharging a firearm into an occupied structure.
Anabel Sarabia, the victim’s mother, previously testified that Angelina put her head in her hands when she heard the sound of shots shattering the home’s windows.
“We were so confused,” Sarabia said. “I tried to grab Angelina, and I could just feel the bullets coming through. She wouldn’t move. She just sat there.”
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.