On the warm summer night of August 2, 2015, a fatal encounter unfolded in a central Las Vegas alley, ending the life of Joel Sanchez, a 31-year-old Hispanic man. At approximately 10:20 p.m., Sanchez was walking with a companion in an alley situated in the 4600 block of Twain Avenue when gunfire erupted, shattering the evening's calm.
When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they found Sanchez had sustained fatal gunshot wounds and he was pronounced dead in the alley.
The man he was with had also been shot and was promptly taken to University Medical Center for treatment of wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening. Investigators began to piece together the events of that night, initially describing the assailant as a Hispanic male in his 40s who had fled the scene in an older model blue Ford or Chevrolet pickup truck.
A few days later, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department publicly identified a suspect in the fatal shooting. They announced that 55-year-old Carlos Aviles was wanted for the murder of Joel Sanchez. A warrant was issued for his arrest on the charge of murder with a deadly weapon. Authorities stated that Aviles had fled in a 1994 blue or teal Ford F-150. The motive behind the deadly shooting was not disclosed to the public. Online sources available do not contain information regarding the apprehension of the named suspect.
