Henderson teen facing murder charges waives right to hearing

A Henderson teenager appeared before a judge Wednesday and waived his right to a preliminary hearing in the stabbing deaths of his mother and 9-year-old brother.

“The law permits us to do it, and we determined in this case that was what we wanted to do,” Deputy Public Defender Joseph Abood said outside the courtroom.

At a preliminary hearing, a judge hears evidence before deciding whether to bind a defendant over for trial in District Court.

Henderson Justice of the Peace David Gibson Sr. scheduled a Nov. 18 arraignment for the defendant, Adrian Navarro-Canales, in District Court.

Abood said his 16-year-old client will plead not guilty to the two counts of murder he faces in the deaths of his brother, Cesar Navarro, and his mother, 40-year-old Elvira Canales-Gomez. The suspect has been charged as an adult.

Henderson police found the bodies in the family’s apartment in the 11000 block of South Eastern Avenue, near Sunridge Heights Parkway, on Sept. 20.

After receiving an anonymous tip, police saw Navarro-Canales sitting alone on Sept. 25 at a food court near the Strip and Tropicana Avenue. He was arrested without incident.

Several members of the defendant’s family, including his father, attended the court hearing Wednesday, but Abood advised them not to comment. The father, Adrian Navarro Soto-Mayor, lives in Northern California.

Navarro-Canales, who is in custody, quietly watched the proceedings and showed no emotion. One woman was asked to leave the courtroom after waving to him.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at 702-384-8710 or cgeer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CarriGeer on Twitter.