Man killed in robbery bid ID’d

The man killed Sunday night in an attempted robbery 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, 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. He suffered a serious leg injury in the fall, Las Vegas homicide Lt. Lew Roberts said.

"They pushed him right out the window," Roberts said.

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

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.

Police responded to the scene 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, Clark County Department of Family Services officials were at the apartment to investigate living conditions for Eric Fuentes' son.

Favela said he isn't sure whether the son will be released to his brothers. It was unclear 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 leads are few.

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