In a tragic turn of events on April 20, 2018, a Hispanic male named Mark Salazar, aged 46, lost his life in Las Vegas, Nevada, the day after his birthday. His body was discovered by a passerby in an alley around 9:20 p.m. on the 3700 block of Hazelwood Street, near Twain Avenue and Swenson Street. Salazar had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The subsequent investigation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department led to the
identification of two suspects. The first, 42-year-old Gonzalo Rivera, was arrested on April 24, 2018. Rivera provided investigators with varying accounts of the shooting but consistently maintained that another individual was the shooter. His brother had initially called 911 to report the shooting and later admitted to authorities that he had witnessed the event and had cleaned up the scene before making the call.
Further investigation and security footage led to a second suspect, 42-year-old John V. Kelley, who was arrested in early May 2018. During an interview with homicide detectives, Kelley confessed to shooting Salazar once in the chest. He claimed the shooting occurred inside the laundry room of a nearby apartment complex following an argument that erupted shortly after Salazar arrived. Kelley expressed remorse for his actions during the police interview.
According to Rivera's statement to the police, after Kelley shot Salazar, Kelley turned the gun on him and ordered him to clean the crime scene and dispose of the evidence. Rivera stated that he and Kelley then moved Salazar's body from the laundry room before leaving in separate vehicles. Rivera also admitted to taking Salazar's cellphone and a blood-soaked T-shirt. Both Gonzalo Rivera and John V. Kelley were booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a count of murder.
