Man killed in attempted robbery identified

The man killed in an attempted robbery Sunday night on Poppy Lane was identified Monday by friends and neighbors as Eric Fuentes.

According to Lino Favela, owner of Mar Y Tierra Mexican Seafood Restaurant on Eastern Avenue just a few hundred yards from the victim’s apartment, Fuentes and his two brothers worked as cooks in his restaurant.

Favela said the three brothers lived together at Cabana Park apartments with Eric Fuentes’ young son.

Las Vegas police officials and Favela said that two men holding firearms approached Fuentes outside the apartment and demanded money.

When Fuentes’ didn’t provide money, the suspects forced him up the stairs and into his second-story apartment.

After the suspects gained entry, another brother, Sergio Fuentes, was thrown out of a back window of the apartment by the suspects. He suffered a serious leg injury in the fall, said Las Vegas homicide Lt. Lew Roberts.
“They pushed him right out the window,” Roberts said.

That’s when Gustavo, the third brother, came out of a bedroom holding a steel pipe, Favela said.

“He (Gustavo Fuentes) told me he heard noises in the house,” Favela said. “He had no idea what was going on.”

The suspects then decided to flee. Before they did, they fired multiple shots at Eric Fuentes at point-blank range, Favela said.

“He (Gustavo) was absolutely heartbroken,” he said. “These were his brothers. This was his family.”

Police responded to the scene at about 11 p.m. Sunday, where they discovered Eric Fuentes’ body inside the apartment and Sergio Fuentes outside.

Sergio Fuentes is in stable condition at University Medical Center, police said.

On Monday, officials from the Clark County Department of Family Services were at the Fuentes’ apartment to investigate living conditions for Eric Fuentes’ son.

Favela said he isn’t sure whether Eric’s son will be released to his brothers. It wasn’t clear how much of the crime the child witnessed.

“He (Eric’s son) was everything to him. I will do anything I can to help (the family),” Favela said. “They worked for me for 15 years at least... They were more than my cooks, they were my friends.”

Roberts said police are still investigating, but that leads are few.

One suspect was described as muscular; the other suspect was thin. Both suspects wore masks.

“We don’t have a lot to go on right now,” he said.

Mark Peterson, a co-owner of Cabana Park apartments, said he warns residents not to sit outside at night.

“These thugs are looking for easy targets,” he said. “It’s sad we have to be as careful as we do, but that’s the way it is.”

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.