Las Vegas police arrest suspect in fatal stabbing

Las Vegas police last week arrested a 36-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing another man in the east valley.

Police arrested Qais Fawad on Jan. 20 “during a person stop” in the 3600 block of Maryland Parkway, the Metropolitan Police Department announced Wednesday. Fawad was arrested in connection with the death of 54-year-old Jose Salamanca, who was found stabbed on Jan. 15, lying on a sidewalk near Sahara and Eastern avenues.

He was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police have said. His death was ruled a homicide due to a stab wound of the back, the Clark County coroner’s office said.

Salamanca was seen near a bus stop before he was stabbed, police said.

According to an arrest report, officers reviewing security footage saw a man matching Fawad’s description swinging a knife back and forth in the area around the time of the Jan. 15 stabbing. At a nearby grocery store, witnesses told police a man matching Fawad’s description also stole a soda around that time, reportedly while flashing a similar knife.

On Jan. 20, the same man appeared to be in the area, armed with the same knife. Police stopped Fawad, took him into custody and later found Salamanca’s blood residue on Fawad’s blade.

Fawad has been charged with murder with a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon, court records show.

Court records also show that on Jan. 5, 10 days before the stabbing, Fawad was sentenced to 90 days in the Clark County Detention Center after he pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed machete.

He received credit toward his sentence for the 67 days he spent in custody prior to his sentence. It’s unclear when Fawad was apparently released from the detention center. Metro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In another active case, he faces two felony counts of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and a misdemeanor count of using or possessing drug paraphernalia, court records show. Further information about that case was not immediately available.

In January 2018 he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempted grand larceny.

Fawad remained in the Clark County Detention Center on Wednesday without bail, and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday morning.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.