On a late evening in Las Vegas, the life of 65-year-old Jerry Lee Moore, a retired mechanic, came to a violent and tragic end. On June 5, 2017, a passing motorist discovered Moore's body lying in the street on Cypress Hill Trail. He had been shot in the head, and his hands were cuffed behind his back in what detectives would later describe as an "execution". The Clark County Coroner's Office confirmed that the cause of death was a shotgun wound to the head.
The discovery of his body, around 11:30 p.m. in a dirt area behind a gambling parlor near Rancho Drive and Lake Mead Boulevard, launched a homicide investigation.
The investigation into Moore's death moved swiftly, and within days, two suspects were in custody. Blane Ward, 53, and Charlene King, 51, were arrested during a traffic stop without incident. They were subsequently charged with murder, robbery, and conspiracy to commit murder. Investigators believe the motive for this brutal crime was robbery. Moore had recently received a $30,000 settlement from a car accident and had told several people in his neighborhood about his windfall. Ward and Moore had previously been neighbors, living in the same trailer park.
The plot to rob Moore allegedly began when Charlene King went to his trailer and asked for his help with Ward's vehicle, which she claimed had broken down. Witnesses saw Moore leave with King in his recently purchased green 1994 Ford pickup truck. This would be the last time he was seen alive. After the murder, King and Ward were reportedly seen at Moore's trailer, searching through his belongings and taking a jar of change and other items. Ironically, in their haste, they apparently missed the very thing they were after. Investigators found two stacks of cash, totaling $20,000, inside the pocket of a vest Moore was wearing. Moore's pickup truck was later found parked near Ward's trailer.
