Trevor L. Szalai, a 20-year-old White/Caucasian man, was killed on April 1, 2025, in a shooting outside Las Vegas, New Mexico. Shortly after 1:30 p.m., New Mexico State Police officers were dispatched to 5 Prairie Hill Road after receiving a report that someone had been shot. When officers arrived, they found Szalai lying on the ground with a serious gunshot wound.
Another man, 21-year-old Cody Ramone, was beside him attempting to provide aid, and officers observed a shotgun lying on the ground nearby. Emergency medical personnel responded, but Szalai could not be saved. The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator pronounced him dead at the scene.
Investigators with the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau began reconstructing what had happened before the gunfire. According to authorities, Szalai and Ramone had been involved in a verbal argument that escalated into a physical confrontation. At some point during the dispute, a shotgun was brought into the encounter. Police said there was a brief struggle involving the weapon before it discharged at least once, striking Szalai. An obituary later published by Szalai's family described the disagreement as involving a coworker and a set of keys, although that specific detail was not included in the initial State Police account.
Court-related reporting provided additional details about the conflicting accounts surrounding the shooting. According to an affidavit cited in news coverage, Ramone told investigators that Szalai had threatened him with the shotgun. Ramone reportedly said he struck or "batted" the weapon away and that it discharged during that interaction, with the blast striking Szalai below the neck. When police reached the scene, a break-action shotgun was reportedly lying about 10 feet from the two men, while Ramone was still attempting to help Szalai.
Investigators also received information from a person who reportedly was speaking with Szalai by telephone when the confrontation occurred. According to the police affidavit described in news reports, that witness told investigators that during the call they heard Ramone say that he had shot Szalai. That account, together with the physical evidence at the scene and statements gathered during the investigation, became part of the criminal case against Ramone. The available reporting does not establish that the shooting was planned in advance, and the precise circumstances surrounding how the shotgun came to be involved remained an important part of the investigation.
Ramone was arrested by New Mexico State Police and booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center. He was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Szalai's death. A criminal complaint was filed in San Miguel County Magistrate Court, and prosecutors subsequently asked the state District Court to keep Ramone jailed while the case proceeded. Early reporting indicated that a pretrial detention hearing was scheduled shortly after his arrest. The murder allegation remained a criminal charge, meaning Ramone was legally presumed innocent unless and until guilt was established through a plea or court proceeding.
Szalai's death came only a little more than two weeks after his twentieth birthday. His obituary stated that he was born March 16, 2005, and described the devastating effect his death had on a large circle of relatives and loved ones, including his wife, parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. His family arranged a memorial service and candlelight vigil in Klamath Falls, Oregon, later that month.
Publicly accessible online reporting located for the case documents Ramone's arrest and the second-degree murder charge but does not provide a verified later disposition such as a guilty plea, trial verdict, acquittal, or sentencing. The most recent substantive reports located continued to describe the matter as a homicide investigation and criminal prosecution stemming from the April 1, 2025 confrontation.
