On the evening of July 31, 2015, in the central Las Vegas valley, a dispute over a marijuana transaction turned fatal, leading to the death of Rene Ernest Flores-Guevara, a 33-year-old Hispanic male. The incident occurred at the Hills Lodge apartments on Karen Avenue, near Maryland Parkway. Officers were dispatched to the scene around 6:30 p.m., where they discovered Flores-Guevara inside an apartment, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
He was transported to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries a week later, on August 7.
The investigation into the shooting revealed a narrative of a drug deal gone wrong. According to police documents, the man who shot Flores-Guevara had demanded a refund for a marijuana purchase. Witnesses at the apartment complex reported seeing the shooter fleeing the scene immediately after the gunshot. The investigation quickly focused on 21-year-old Rio Stephone Jones as the primary suspect.
Authorities released surveillance video from a nearby convenience store, which captured images of Jones with two other individuals, Sarai Ramsey and Marquez Herrod, shortly before the shooting. Tips from the public helped detectives identify the people in the video. The investigation revealed that in the aftermath of the shooting, Jones had moved to Chicago, and Ramsey had relocated to Oakland, California. Marquez Herrod was not charged in connection with the homicide. After an intense investigation, Rio Stephone Jones was located and apprehended in Chicago. He was subsequently extradited to Las Vegas and booked into the Clark County Detention Center, facing a murder charge for the death of Rene Flores-Guevara.
