On a tragic day in Las Vegas, December 13, 2020, a 32-year-old Black / African American man named Jacqwan James Rankin lost his life. The fatal incident unfolded inside an apartment situated in the 4700 block of Deckow Lane, near the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Koval Lane. Friends Jacqwan Rankin and Barry Raymond were at the residence of Raymond's mother, where Raymond had been living.
The afternoon took a violent turn without apparent warning.
Raymond's mother was in the kitchen when she was startled by a loud bang. Rushing to see what had happened, she witnessed Rankin slumping over in the living room. Her son, 33-year-old Barry Raymond, was standing nearby, tucking a handgun into his waistband. According to the arrest report, Raymond then wrapped a sheet around Rankin's head. The Clark County Coroner later confirmed that Rankin died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head.
Following the shooting, a tense situation developed within the apartment. Raymond initially prevented his mother and brother from leaving the residence. They were eventually able to get away and go to a cousin's apartment next door. Raymond followed them, making statements about the shooting. He then went back to his mother's apartment, rifled through Rankin's pockets, and fled the scene before authorities arrived. While Raymond's mother told police that her son and Rankin had not been arguing prior to the gunshot, a police lieutenant mentioned to reporters that an altercation had occurred.
After an investigation that spanned several months, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department identified Barry Raymond as the primary suspect. In March 2021, he was arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center. He was subsequently charged with one count of murder in connection with Jacqwan Rankin's death. It was later revealed that Raymond had a criminal history, having been released from a prison in California less than a year before the fatal shooting. His prior convictions included one for attempted murder.
