On May 29, 2020, a fatal shooting occurred at an east Las Vegas Valley apartment complex, resulting in the death of 21-year-old Dylan Dean. The incident took place in the parking lot of the apartment complex located at 3950 Mountain Vista St., west of Boulder Highway. According to the reports, the shooting happened during an argument involving several individuals.
The events leading to the shooting were described by multiple witnesses.
Dean's girlfriend, who was present at the scene along with their young child and a friend, reported that they were waiting for a ride in the parking lot when Luis Lopez-Angeles approached them and started talking to her friend. The conversation apparently did not go well, and Dean approached the group. Another man, who was with Lopez-Angeles, aggressively confronted Dean, leading to a physical altercation. Dean attempted to head-butt this man, and in the ensuing chaos, Lopez-Angeles shot Dean in the neck.
The brother-in-law of Lopez-Angeles' girlfriend also witnessed the incident. He stated that he was at his sister-in-law's house for a cookout when he heard that Lopez-Angeles was about to be in a fight in the parking lot. He intervened to prevent the altercation from becoming violent but was unable to prevent the shooting. After Dean attempted to head-butt him, he stepped back and heard a gunshot, seeing Dean fall to the ground with a neck wound. He then saw Lopez-Angeles running away from the scene.
Luis Lopez-Angeles, a 28-year-old man, was identified as the suspect in the shooting. He was arrested on June 26, 2020, in connection with Dean's death. Lopez-Angeles was charged with murder with a deadly weapon. At the time of his arrest, he had two other active court cases: one for a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery from January 2020, and another for discharging a gun where someone may be endangered, a gross misdemeanor, from May 2020.
Following the shooting, officers were called to the scene around 7:50 p.m. on May 29, but the two men involved, including Lopez-Angeles, had already fled. The Clark County coroner's office later ruled Dean's death a homicide due to a gunshot wound to the neck.
Lopez-Angeles remained in the Clark County Detention Center without bail. During an interview, the man who was with Lopez-Angeles reported that Lopez-Angeles had told him, “he does not fight, he shoots,” explaining his actions. Additionally, Lopez-Angeles had been advised by the man to turn himself in to the police but chose to hide at a friend's house instead.
The homicide was the 57th in Las Vegas for the year 2020, according to records maintained by the Review-Journal. The case highlights the violent nature of the altercation and the swift action taken by law enforcement to apprehend the suspect.
