Arrest made in fatal shooting at Fremont Street Experience
Las Vegas police arrested a 16-year-old suspect they allege fatally shot a man and wounded a bystander earlier this month at the Fremont Street Experience.
Ruben Robles was taken into custody Friday at an east Las Vegas neighborhood, a day before his 17th birthday, the Metropolitan Police Department announced Monday.
He was being held at the Clark County Detention Center on one count each of murder, attempted murder and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.
The shooting, which occurred about 2:10 a.m. on June 19, followed a quarrel at the tourist attraction in the heart of downtown Las Vegas.
As revelers partied underneath the canopy, about 2:10 a.m. June 19, a fight among a group broke out, police said.
Someone in the group pulled out a gun and fired multiple rounds, striking Raymond Renova, who was involved in the confrontation, but also a second person, who was not, police said.
Renova, a 23-year-old from Southern California, died at University Medical Center, where the bystander also was taken, said police, adding that the second victim was expected to recover.
Police released few details in the days that followed, but records show they had identified Robles as a suspect by Tuesday, when an arrest warrant was approved, Las Vegas Justice Court records show.
It was not clear how they identified him or what led to the fight and shooting, which partially were captured on video that circulated on social media.
One video shows people scattering as a staccato of half a dozen pops sounded off. Another video showed a man’s CPR attempts on a bloody man lying on the ground.
Meanwhile, Renova’s family described the victim a a son, brother, uncle and cousin who “literally had his whole life ahead of him before it was tragically cut short due to gun violence,” his father, Raymond Renova Sr. wrote on a GoFundMe page.
Attempts to reach Renova’s family have been unsuccessful. The fundraiser said family members were trying to repatriate his remains to California for a funeral there.
Police did not release more information on the teenage suspect, but records show this is at least his third Las Vegas Justice Court case.
Last year, Robles was charged as an adult in two separate felony cases, which have since been dismissed.
Robles faced a count of robbery with a deadly weapon for a March 2021 incident, records show. He also was charged with multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into an occupied structure in connection to an October incident.
An attorney who represented Robles in two felony Las Vegas cases in 2021 could not immediately be reached for comment.
Robles is next expected in court Tuesday morning.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter.