Las Vegas man, 24, sentenced in 2020 double slaying

A Las Vegas man who ambushed and killed two people in a car in 2020 was sentenced Friday to 34 years to life in prison.

Brian Dewakuku, 24, received the sentence from District Judge Michelle Leavitt in the July 29, 2020, killings of Dae’shawn King, 24, and Edna Reyes, 23, both of Las Vegas. Dewakuku shot them as they sat in a vehicle at 12:34 a.m. on McWilliams Avenue, near Eastern Avenue and Bonanza Road.

A Las Vegas police arrest report for Dewakuku indicates video surveillance in the area showed the gunman from a distance, wearing all black and a pair of sneakers with a “distinct cross pattern on the front of the shoe.” Police later received a tip that Dewakuku claimed responsibility for the killings after a drug deal gone bad. A search warrant of Dewakuku’s apartment on Smoke Ranch Road produced a pair of Nike sneakers with the same distinct cross pattern on the front of the shoe as the tennis shoes worn by the suspect on video.

Dewakuku pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder as part of a plea deal in December.

In court Friday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal said the killings were senseless and “disturbing.” He said that the victims were “lured” to the area by Dewakuku.

“He callously planned to kill these individuals for no reason,” Palal said. “It was preplanned from the outset.”

In court Friday, the judge asked Dewakuku if he wanted to make a statement, prompting him to respond, “I don’t got nothing to say.”

Defense attorney Clark Patrick said his client was under the influence of drugs at the time of the shooting and that “Brian has a bad drug problem.” He also said the shooting stemmed from a drug transaction that went bad.

“It’s surprising this happened,” Patrick said. “He’s always been pleasant, always willing to help.”

Family members of the two victims bristled at the portrayal of King and Reyes as drug dealers. King’s mother, Shameka Jackson, said her son had just gotten off from work and was simply giving Reyes a ride to the area at the time of the shooting.

“The plan was to murder them,” she said. “I don’t understand the purpose … I was hoping he would at least be apologetic or at least say, ‘I’m sorry. I did what I did.’ He has nothing to say for taking two people from this world?”

King’s father, Curtis, said of Dewakuku, “I hope he rots in hell.”

“What this man did to these two lives, it is extreme cowardice,” Curtis King said. “Being a drug addict is no excuse for taking two innocent lives.”

Both parents described Dae’shawn as a promising young man with a bright future. Reyes’ mother, Sindia Reyes, described her daughter the same way, noting Edna had a young child and that Edna was shot on the day of her daughter’s birthday. Edna, she said, was a talented musician who played the guitar and the ukulele.

“The sentence he gets today will not bring my daughter back to me, but I hope he gets the maximum,” she said in Spanish through an interpreter.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.