Police: Man was killed in Strip hotel over $20 voucher
A Las Vegas man is accused of killing another man inside a Strip hotel room over a $20 gambling voucher, according to Las Vegas police.
Christopher Mason faces charges of open murder in connection with a killing at an Excalibur hotel room on Saturday, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Police said they first learned of the killing when a hotel housekeeper discovered the victim, 35-year-old Martell Merrill, in a hotel room registered to Mason Sunday morning. There were two other names associated with the room, Merrill and a woman who later identified herself as Merrill’s girlfriend.
The Clark County coroner’s office ruled Merrill’s cause of death as a gunshot wound to the arm and chest.
Merrill’s girlfriend told police that she heard a confrontation between Merrill and Mason over a $20 gambling voucher on the phone Saturday night while she was outside of the hotel around 9 p.m.
She called the police after hearing the confrontation, but directed police and hotel security to the wrong room, according to the arrest report.
Police said hotel records showed a room key opened the hotel room just before 9 p.m., followed by the door opening from the inside five minutes later. Officers saw Mason leave the hotel just after 9 p.m. on surveillance footage.
When searching the room, police did not find any shell casings but found three speed loaders for a revolver in a bag Mason was seen carrying on surveillance footage.
Mason is currently in custody, according to court and jail records
Contact Mark Credico at mcredico@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarkCredicoII.