Suspect in death faced ’07 charges
A man arrested earlier this week by Henderson police in connection with the death a 6-week-old boy pleaded guilty in 2007 to a domestic battery charge.
Police and court records show 20-year-old Rayshaun T. Coleman and his girlfriend, the child's mother, have had several encounters with the law during the past few years.
Henderson police arrested Coleman on a murder charge early Monday in the death of Tristin Michaels Hilburn.
Police said the infant showed signs of abuse. Coleman denied a request to be interviewed Tuesday.
The mother was in Henderson jail when her boyfriend was taking care of the child, police said.
The Clark County coroner's office hadn't determined the cause of Tristin's death.
Henderson police spokesman Keith Paul said Hilburn's mother, Christal Hilburn-Gaynor, was in jail as she typically is on weekends as part of a sentence. He didn't know why she was in jail, but said she was arrested by Henderson police on a domestic battery charge in June 2008.
"She comes to us on the weekends," Paul said.
He declined to comment on the condition Tristin was found in when police arrived at the home. A state fatality report on the baby's death has yet to be released.
Henderson police were called to a home on Dunnam Street, near Pabco and Sunset roads, shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday. The infant was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he was declared dead.
Nobody answered the door at the home Tuesday. Calls there were not answered.
According to court records, Hilburn-Gaynor also was arrested by Las Vegas police in October 2008 on loitering and prostitution charges. The case was never tried because of lack of evidence.
Paul said Henderson police arrested Coleman twice in 2006 for domestic battery.
Las Vegas police arrested Coleman in April of 2007 on a warrant out of Henderson for assault with a deadly weapon. He was again arrested by Las Vegas police on a Henderson warrant when he failed to appear in court in August of that year.
Christine Skorupski, a spokeswoman for Clark County Family Services, said her agency has no record of Tristin being abused prior to his death. She said because of his death, one child has been placed in custody with her agency.
Two neighbors said they didn't know Coleman or Hilburn-Gaynor well.
"They are quiet," a neighbor said. "Nobody bothered them. They didn't bother anybody."
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.
