Man arrested in fatal shooting of stepfather in August, police say

A man who allegedly killed his stepfather in August after the victim was violent toward his mother has been arrested, police said.

DeAngelo Gray, 32, was taken into custody Thursday in connection to the Aug. 28 killing of Dwayne Vernell, 64. Vernell died at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center after being found with gunshot wounds in the 600 block of Sierra Vista Drive, near East Desert Inn Road and South University Center Drive around 11 p.m.

Police found four spent shotgun shell casings in the street near where Vernell was found. A witness said they saw someone running away from the scene carrying what looked like a sawed-off shotgun, according to Metropolitan Police Department arrest warrant.

Based on the witness’ account police detained and interviewed a man who was later ruled out as a suspect.

Vernell’s wife told police she was separated from Vernell but that he had been violent toward her and that she was scared of him. She called Gray to come to her house because she was afraid of Vernell, according to the warrant.

She filed a police report alleging that Vernell had tried to light her apartment door on fire on Aug. 28, police said.

A review of Gray’s phone showed the device was in the area of the shooting around 11 p.m. when Vernell was fatally shot. Police obtained text messages between Gray and his sister where he said he was upset with Vernell and was planning on confronting him the night the shooting occurred, according to the warrant.

The Clark County coroner’s office ruled Vernell died from multiple shotgun wounds.

Gray remains in custody without bail and is due in court on Nov. 15, jail records show.

He is facing a charge of open murder in the case, but it was not clear Tuesday whether he had yet been charged.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.