On May 11, 2017, Dareon Laquan Deas, a 25-year-old man, was found dead in a vehicle at the Bloom Apartment Homes complex located at 7075 W. Gowan Road in northwest Las Vegas. The incident occurred during what was initially supposed to be a drug transaction involving pharmaceutical-grade cough syrup, commonly referred to as 'lean'.
The investigation revealed that Deas had arranged to meet Thayron Paxton and Ronald Daniels in the parking lot of the apartment complex to complete the sale.
However, Paxton and his accomplices had other intentions. Paxton admitted to police that they planned the robbery because they could not afford the cough syrup. During the transaction, Paxton aimed a gun at Deas and demanded the cough syrup and his money. William Bogan, who was hiding behind a trash can, stepped out and joined Paxton, both of them armed. When Deas refused to comply, Bogan fired three rounds, resulting in Deas's death.
The suspects immediately fled the scene, splitting the cough syrup and approximately $300 taken during the robbery among themselves. The first arrests in the case were made on May 16, 2017, when Thayron Paxton and William Bogan, both 18 years old at the time, were booked on one count of open murder in connection with Deas's death. Their arrest reports detailed the roles each played in the robbery and the subsequent shooting.
In the following months, additional suspects were identified and arrested. Ronald Daniels, who was a minor at the time, was arrested in June 2017, and Lavontay Taylor, then 23 years old, was arrested in July 2017. It wasn't until March 2019 that the fifth suspect, Christopher Miller, 22, was identified and arrested. Miller was linked to the case through latent prints found on Deas's body and the suspects' vehicle, which matched his fingerprints. Miller admitted to being present during the robbery and shooting but claimed his role was minimal.
All five suspects faced charges of murder, robbery with a deadly weapon, burglary, and conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary. William Bogan was found guilty by a jury on all counts and was sentenced to 26 years to life in a state prison in October 2019. Ronald Daniels pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and robbery as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to 16 to 40 years in a state prison in February 2019. Thayron Paxton also took a plea deal, although the details of his agreement were not specified, and he was scheduled to be sentenced later. Lavontay Taylor's jury trial was scheduled to begin on August 26, 2019. Christopher Miller was being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center, with a preliminary hearing set for May 20, 2019.
The case highlighted the coordinated efforts of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in identifying and apprehending the suspects involved in Deas's death, using a combination of forensic evidence, witness statements, and thorough investigative work. The arrests and subsequent convictions brought some measure of justice to Deas's family, who had been seeking justice since his tragic death.
