On a late November morning in 2018, a distressing 911 call was made by 24-year-old Jesus Montiel. He reported that he had been shot while on a trail near a wash in the southeast area of Las Vegas. The incident occurred around 11:40 a.m. on November 20th. Emergency services responded to the scene on the 3100 block of South Mojave Road, and Montiel was transported to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.
Initially, the injuries he sustained were not believed to be life-threatening.
Tragically, Jesus Montiel's condition took a turn for the worse, and he succumbed to his injuries on Thanksgiving Day, just two days after the shooting. The Clark County coroner's office later confirmed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and his death was officially ruled a homicide. Investigators learned that Montiel was walking in the wash area when he was approached by two individuals. After a brief conversation, one of the individuals shot him. Montiel was able to tell emergency dispatch that the suspects fled north through the wash after the shooting.
For nearly two years, the case remained a priority for Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department homicide detectives. The initial description of the suspects was of two young men in their early 20s, last seen wearing dark clothing. The investigation continued until July 2020, when a significant breakthrough led to the arrests of two teenagers in connection with Montiel's murder.
The suspects were identified as Daniel Barron and Alejandro Morales-Trejo, who were 16 and 15 years old, respectively, at the time of the shooting. Both were taken into custody and faced felony charges of murder with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit murder. The arrests brought a long-awaited sense of progress for those seeking justice for the death of Jesus Montiel, a young man whose life was cut short in a sudden act of violence.
