Woman arrested in teen’s shooting death

Las Vegas police arrested a suspect Tuesday in connection with Saturday’s morning shooting death near Lake Mead and Jones boulevards.

Stacey Annette Thomas, 27, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on an open murder charge in connection with the shooting that killed 17-year-old DeMario Charles Hughes.

Thomas, who had a previous arrest in connection to domestic violence, was identified by police as a person of interest in the shooting that left Hughes dead in the street.

A witness told police they saw a “heavyset black female” leaning over Hughes’ body. The witness saw the woman got in a small red car and drove away, but managed to write down the license plate of the car belonging to Thomas, according to the arrest report.

On Sunday, Thomas called the detective investigating Hughes’ death and told her side of the story.

Thomas and Hughes, her boyfriend, were driving in the early morning hours on Saturday with her 4-year-old son when they started fighting in the car. At some point, the fight turned violent and Hughes hit Thomas in the face, she told police.

Thomas said she hit Hughes back and pulled into a parking lot on Ilanos Lane where the fight continued inside the car.

While the two wrestled, Thomas said she saw Hughes reach for a gun and instead got hold of the gun herself, according to the arrest report.

Thomas admitted to pointing the gun at Hughes when it “went off” four times. Hughes opened the door and fell out of the car. She dumped the car and took her son, now with family members in California, to a relative who was visiting Las Vegas, according to the report.

Thomas told the detective she would turn herself in after she saw her son in California one last time, but she never did, the report said.

Thomas is scheduled to be in court on Thursday at 8 a.m.

Cassandra Taloma contributed to this report. Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Find him on Twitter: @ColtonLochhead.