In the east valley of Las Vegas, on December 1, 2017, the life of 37-year-old Hispanic male Angel Gutierrez was tragically cut short. At an apartment complex located at 4000 E. Bonanza Road, near Lamb Boulevard, Gutierrez was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to University Medical Center, but succumbed to his injuries, and his death was officially ruled a homicide.
For years, his family held out hope for justice, remembering him as a special, funny, and loved individual who always did his best for his loved ones.
The initial investigation by the Las Vegas police involved speaking to a witness who reported hearing two gunshots. This witness saw a young man walking away from the scene, holding an object in his right hand which he then threw into a bush. The individual reportedly returned to look for the object but left without finding it. Police later recovered a gun from that same bush. Despite finding DNA on the weapon, there were no immediate matches in the system, and by early 2020, all leads in the case had been exhausted.
A break in the case came in January 2021 when the DNA from the gun was matched to Martin Napoles. At the time of the shooting, Napoles was 16 years old and lived about a half-mile from the crime scene. His DNA was entered into the system following a November 2020 arrest on weapons and drug charges when he was stopped for a "pedestrian violation" and found to be in possession of a concealed handgun. In March 2022, then 20-year-old Martin Napoles was arrested and charged with the murder of Angel Gutierrez. He was taken into custody at his residence without incident and booked into the Clark County Detention Center.
