Prosecutors plan to seek death penalty for man accused of killing fellow sitting next to his date
Clark County prosecutors intend to seek capital punishment for a man accused of fatally shooting a man in January for sitting next to his date at a Las Vegas bar.
A notice of intent to seek the death penalty was filed Thursday in the case against Joel Nunez Cruz, 24, also known as Joel Nuno-Cruz. He is accused of killing Alberto Sanchez-Delatorre and wounding a bystander Jan. 21 at the OK Corral bar, 1602 N. Nellis Blvd.
The suspect is facing 35 felony charges, including murder with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, attempted murder, robbery and burglary. He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center under the name Joel C. Nunoz.
Police have said Nunez Cruz had taken a woman dancing at the bar and became angry when Sanchez-Delatorre sat next to his date. The woman told police that Nunez Cruz stormed out of the bar and had her drop him off at a nearby street.
He is accused of returning to the bar about 13 minutes later, walking up to Sanchez-Delatorre and firing several rounds before running away, records show.
Police said the suspect also been linked to a string of east valley robberies. Those armed robberies mostly happened at fast-food restaurants, but at least one occurred at an east valley computer store. At the computer store, the robber fired at least seven rounds as he ran away.
Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Follow @WesJuhl on Twitter.
