In the late morning hours of November 30, 2010, the life of 19-year-old Hispanic male Jose Antonio Mollinedo of Victorville, California, was tragically cut short. His body was discovered by a hotel employee on the fifth-floor ramp of the parking garage at the Silverton Casino Hotel in Las Vegas. The cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the head, and the Clark County Coroner's office officially ruled it a homicide.
Investigators quickly turned to the hotel's surveillance footage to piece together the events leading to Mollinedo's death. The video captured startling images of Mollinedo walking with another man in the parking garage at approximately 9:30 a.m. The footage reportedly showed the second individual dropping back, pulling out a firearm, and shooting Mollinedo in the back of the head in what was described as an execution-style slaying. After the fatal shot was fired and Mollinedo fell to the ground, the shooter fled the scene.
The investigation led authorities to identify 20-year-old Westley Casasola, also from California, as the primary suspect. A grand jury indicted Casasola on seven felony counts, including murder, armed robbery, and conspiracy. Authorities believe that both Mollinedo and Casasola were members of the same gang based in Victorville. It has been speculated that Casasola may have been ordered to carry out the killing for reasons that remain publicly unknown. Despite the indictment, Casasola remained at large following the incident.
