Police say suspect with gang ties arrested in December 2000 slaying in Mesquite

A 27-year-old man with gang ties was arrested Wednesday in a decade-old slaying of a fellow gang member in Mesquite, a Las Vegas police report said.

The Metropolitan Police Department recently collaborated with Mesquite police to investigate the Dec. 18, 2000, killing of Roberto Carlos Gonzales, 25, identified in the report as a Rebels 13 street gang member.

Isaias Vega, alleged to have been a Rebels 13 member, is being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote and further assist a criminal gang.

According to the report, Gonzales' death was planned by five gang members, including Vega. Gonzales was believed to have been a "snitch" for police.

Gonzales was found dead in an area known as the Caskeros, near Hafen Lane in Mesquite. The Clark County coroner's office determined he was beaten to death, police said. The report said he was attacked with baseball bats after being lured to the site by the promise of beer.

Detectives with the Las Vegas police Gang Crime Bureau picked up the investigation last year, the report said.

Gang members and their associates linked Vega to the crime scene and provided incriminating information about his whereabouts and actions after the slaying.

In an interview in June with detectives, Vega denied involvement in the slaying, but the report said: "Vega appeared like he wanted to confess but was afraid of the repercussions from the gang as well as what may happen to him regarding criminal charges."

Anyone with information about others who may be involved in the slaying is urged to call the Las Vegas police Gang Crimes Bureau at 828-3309 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.