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Las Vegas shooting suspect, man killed were longtime friends

Updated January 22, 2022 - 7:24 am

A man is accused of fatally shooting a longtime friend and fellow felon in May in east Las Vegas.

Ardlanders Gibson, 48, was arrested Friday and booked at the Clark County Detention Center on murder and conspiracy charges, according to jail records.

Police believe that on May 30, Gibson walked up to his friend, Benjamin McCarty, and fatally shot him outside a Pep Boys, 3995 E. Charleston Blvd., according to an arrest report released Thursday by the Metropolitan Police Department.

Investigators spoke to several witnesses of the daytime killing and reviewed security footage from nearby businesses to piece together what they said was a targeted attack.

An anonymous tipster told police that McCarty, 49, and Gibson served prison time together for similar crimes, but the crimes were redacted from the arrest report.

Court records show both men were arrested in 1992 for drug possession and in 1994 for a shooting. Both cases carried prison sentences.

McCarty’s wife said that he was released from prison more than a decade ago and reformed his life. On the day he died, the woman said, McCarty was at the Pep Boys trying to get his vehicle towed.

Witnesses said the shooter was wearing multiple layers to conceal his identity despite the warm May day, and a woman told police that Gibson was the only one she gave permission to drive her Nissan Quest, which was spotted leaving the scene.

“Gibson had known McCarty since their childhood,” according to Gibson’s statement to police, denying his involvement in the man’s death.

Gibson is being held without bail and is expected to appear in court Feb. 16 for a preliminary hearing.

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

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