Thursday, June 21, 2018 | 6:45 p.m.
Jonathan Dean was sitting at a red light in a north valley roadway when he caught the attention of armed men in a car who’d decided they wanted his moped, quickly devising an eventual botched attempted robbery that ended in his death.
With a gun pointed at Dean, 37, the suspects first demanded that he pull over, according to a Metro Police arrest report. But he refused.
Police recently made arrests in the June 1 slaying, which occurred in broad daylight near Las Vegas Boulevard North and Cheyenne Avenue.
The car pulled into an apartment complex and the driver, who later turned the suspects in to police, told the passengers to get out because he wanted no involvement in the robbery. Dean then drove by the entrance and appeared to “signal at them,” police said.
That’s when Thomas Loza Rios, 22, and Mario Oceguera Jr., 18, followed him on foot, police said.
A fight ensued near the street, police said. But there was a clear disadvantage — Dean only had a portable speaker to defend himself, while Rios and Oceguera produced firearms, the latter firing the fatal round.
Officers and medics arrived about 3:30 p.m. to find Dean with a grave wound to the chest. He died at University Medical Center.
Much of the incident was captured on a cellphone video and apartment complex surveillance, according to the report. Police soon found out the driver of the Mercury Mystique lived at the complex they’d pulled into.
He went to police two days after the shooting and told them what he knew, according to the report. He said Oceguera carried a “rusty” .22-caliber revolver, while Rios was armed with a pellet gun modified to shoot nails.
Oceguera had fled to California while Rios was in the process of running to Minnesota, their friend told police. Murder, attempted robbery and robbery conspiracy warrants were filed the following day, Las Vegas Justice Court records show.
Oceguera was arrested on Tuesday; and Rios on June 12, jail logs show. They’re being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center.
