Pair charged in Henderson fatal shooting told police they were threatened

Eduardo Rosario, 19, and Brian Vergara, 18, were arrested two days after the Jan. 8 shooting, which took place around 8:30 p.m. near Kenwood Peak Avenue and Wagner Valley Street, just east of Coronado High School, according to the Henderson Police Department.

When police arrived at the scene, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound to the face, according to Rosario and Vergara’s arrest reports.

The man was identified by the Clark County coroner’s office on Thursday as 18-year-old Ray-Quan Wilson of Las Vegas. His cause and manner of death were still pending Thursday.

The coroner’s office said Wilson died at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center on Saturday.

Police found Vergara through a cellphone that was left at the scene, according to his arrest report. Records from the Clark County School District showed that Vergara was the same person depicted in “numerous photographs from the recovered cell phone,” the report said.

The photographs showed that Vergara was “actively involved in the illegal sales of marijuana,” including pictures showing packaged bags of the drug with the handwritten labels “gelato,” “strawberry kush,” and “berry white,” which matched plastic bags that were found at the scene of the shooting.

During an interview with police on Jan. 9, Vergara said he went to the apartment complex with Rosario to sell “an unknown person” marijuana. That man, later identified as Wilson, walked up to the car that Vergara and Rosario were in and started “discussing the sale,” the reports said.

At one point Wilson pulled out a handgun and told Vergara and Rosario to give him their phones, the reports said.

Wilson “told them that if they didn’t do what he said he would shoot them,” according to Rosario’s report.

Rosario told police he then “asked Brian in Spanish, ‘should we attack him?’” Rosario and Vergara then started “punching and kicking” Wilson.

Vergara told police that Rosario was able to grab the gun from Wilson. Vergara said he heard the gun go off, and when he turned around Rosario was holding the weapon and Wilson was on the ground, the report said.

Rosario said when he grabbed the gun he was able to hit Wilson on the back of the head with it. As Wilson was starting to get off the ground, Rosario “started to put the gun in his hand properly,” the report said.

“Edward stated he didn’t have his finger on the trigger but the gun then went off,” the report said.

Eduardo told detectives they didn’t call police after the shooting because they were afraid they would “get in trouble” for selling drugs.

Rosario was initially booked into the Henderson Detention Center on one count each of battery with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm and drug possession with intent to sell, while Vergara was booked on one count of possession with intent to sell, police said.

Court records show that on Tuesday, Rosario was charged with attempted murder and battery with use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm. He was released from the jail on Monday after posting bail.

It was unclear Thursday if Vergara’s charge would be updated. Vergara also was released from the jail on Monday after posting bail.

This was the first of two homicides investigated by Henderson police this year.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.