Father found dead, son arrested in east Las Vegas shooting

A man is accused of fatally shooting his father Wednesday after police said the dad traveled to Las Vegas to check on him.

Justin Gaines, 30, was arrested near the Arizona-New Mexico border, the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement Thursday. He will be extradited to Las Vegas to face a murder charge.

The father flew to Las Vegas Tuesday from California because his son was having “emotional distress,” Metro Lt. Ray Spencer said late Wednesday.

The Clark County coroner’s office identified the California man as 66-year-old Roy Gaines, of Mountain House, a small town east of San Francisco.

Gaines’ mother and her other son called police around 5 p.m. Wednesday to report they found Roy Gaines’ body in his son’s home, on the 5000 block of Sagelyn Street near Tropicana Avenue and Boulder Highway, police said.

The family had stopped hearing from both men around 3 p.m. Tuesday, which Spencer said prompted the mother and other son to fly out.

SWAT officers determined the home was empty, although a car was still in the garage.

Spencer said the family believed Justin Gaines had mental illness, although Spencer was unsure if the man had been diagnosed.

Court records show Justin Gaines was scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 11 after he pleaded guilty to attempted battery resulting in substantial bodily harm in September.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.