Three charged in December death of drug dealer

Three men have been charged with murder in the December slaying of a drug dealer, a Las Vegas arrest warrant obtained Wednesday confirmed.

Jose Luis Escamilla, 26, Francisco Javier Lerma, 27, and Raul Flores, 29, each face felony charges including murder with a deadly weapon, attempted murder and kidnapping related to the death of Cesar Quezada on Christmas Day.

According to the report, Quezada and two friends drove to a residence in the 4000 block of Cy Cliffview Circle, near Lamb Boulevard and Vegas Valley Drive, where Quezada intended to sell drugs to a man he knew.

After Quezada parked his vehicle outside the residence, four men approached and held the others at gunpoint, two victims told police.

Quezada stayed outside the house with Escamilla while Lerma, Flores and an unidentified suspect forced the others inside, the report said.

Shortly afterward, the victims heard gunshots outside, upon which Lerma ordered the other suspects to shoot the victims, the report said.

The victims managed to escape through a bedroom window, the report said, returning to the scene after they were sure the suspects had fled. They found Quezada outside the residence, dead from a gunshot wound to the head, the report said.

The identity and whereabouts of the fourth suspect are unknown.

According to court records, Escamilla will be arraigned next week. He is being held at High Desert State Prison for unrelated grand larceny and stolen vehicle charges stemming from a November incident.

Escamilla was arraigned on those charges Nov. 9, more than a month before the slaying, but he did not start serving his sentence until March.

Flores was arrested March 30, records show. Lerma, who had a warrant out for his arrest, was taken into custody Tuesday.