Men plead not guilty in beating of limo driver

By Bethany Barnes

Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 | 11:23 a.m.

Two men accused of beating a limo driver after one of them told the driver he was in the “Mexican Mafia” pleaded not guilty today in Clark County District Court.

Emilio Ruvalcaba, 30, and Carlos Saenz, 27, are charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, two counts of battery and mayhem, all with attachments that the crimes were done to promote or assist a criminal gang.

Trial is set for 9 a.m. Feb. 24.

The arrest report outlines the following details:

Ruvalcaba and Saenz, along with at least two other unknown men, got into a limousine around 4:30 a.m. Sept. 5 and asked the driver to take them to a liquor store in the 3100 block of South Industrial Road.

Ruvalcaba stayed outside and talked to the driver while the others went into the store.

Ruvalcaba told the driver he was a member of the “Mexican Mafia” and that he’d killed before. He told the driver she would be next and that her body would never be found.

At this point, Saenz interrupted and asked Ruvalcaba if the driver was bothering him and if he should "take care" of her. Saenz punched the driver in the head and she hit him back.

Ruvalcaba and Saenz, along with other unknown men, then repeatedly kicked the driver, who curled into the fetal position in an attempt to minimize the blows.

A bystander, Stephen Brown, saw the attack and ran over to help. Brown had seen one of the men snatch the driver's cellphone and made them give it back. He also told officers the men had attempted to fight him but ended up running off.

After fleeing, the men took a cab to the Palazzo. While in the cab, they talked about how they didn’t want to go to jail, but they did want to kill someone, according to the cab driver who tipped off the police after he dropped the men at the casino. He also told police he’d heard the men mention beating a woman.

While being treated for her injuries at Valley Hospital Medical Center, the driver showed police a cellphone video of her attackers.

Police sent the footage to the Palazzo, pinpointed which rooms Saenz and Ruvalcaba were staying in, and arrested them.

Their arrest records revealed both suspects had been arrested for various crimes in Texas, including attempted murder and engaging in organized crime.

Saenz and Ruvalcaba are in the Clark County Detention Center on $1 million bail.