In the early morning hours of May 4, 2022, 62-year-old Paulo Viana was waiting at a bus stop near the intersection of East Tropicana Avenue and Nellis Boulevard in Las Vegas. Unbeknownst to him, a man dressed in dark clothing had been following him. Shortly before 2:15 a.m., this individual approached Viana, and after a brief altercation, the sound of gunfire echoed through the area. Viana was shot and did not survive his injuries.
The assailant fled the scene, discarding his clothing as he ran.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's homicide detectives immediately began an investigation. They were able to connect Viana's murder to another fatal shooting that had occurred weeks earlier. Investigators released surveillance footage of the suspect and information about the clothing he had abandoned near the crime scenes to the public in a press conference. A tip from a relative led police to identify the suspect as 18-year-old Alonzo 'AJ' Brown.
On June 27, 2022, police executed a warrant and arrested Brown as he was leaving his home, which was located only about 300 feet from where another of the homicides he was suspected of had occurred. At the time of his arrest, Brown was in possession of two handguns, one of which was later forensically linked to the murders of Viana and another victim. Further investigation also connected Brown to the killing of a third individual, Tevin Alhashemi, who was found shot to death in a car on January 18, 2022. Brown was subsequently charged with three counts of murder. However, in December 2022, after psychiatric evaluations, a judge ruled that Alonzo Brown was incompetent to stand trial. He was ordered to a state psychiatric hospital until he is deemed competent to face the charges against him.
