Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Couple accused of robbing, killing man apparently missed the $20K in his pockets

Blane Ward

Blane Ward

Charlene King

Charlene King

Inside the pocket of a vest the victim wore, investigators found two stacks of $10,000 the murder suspects had seemingly and desperately been searching for after they cuffed his hands behind his back and put a bullet in his head, according to Metro Police.

Officers found 65-year-old’s Jerry Lee Moore’s body about 11:30 p.m. June 5 in a dirt area behind a gambling parlor near Rancho Drive and Lake Mead Boulevard, police said. His just-purchased truck was missing.

Blane Ward, 53, and Charlene King, 51, were arrested Wednesday during a traffic stop and jailed on counts of open murder, conspiracy to commit murder and robbery with the use of a deadly weapon, police said. They later couldn’t explain how Moore’s green 1994 Ford pickup truck ended up about 10 feet from the Ward’s trailer.

Ward and King denied their involvement in the slaying, according to their arrest report. Ward and Moore lived in the same trailer park until earlier this year, police said.

An investigation determined that Moore had just earned $30,000 in a settlement, which he told several people in his neighborhood about, police said.

Shortly before Moore’s death, King, whom he knew, went to his trailer and asked for help regarding Ward’s vehicle, which she said had broken down, police said. Witnesses saw the victim and the woman leave together.

Sometime after the shooting, King and Ward arrived at Moore’s trailer in his truck and were looking around inside, taking a jar of change, some marijuana and other items with them, police said. Ward, who’s a four-time registered felon for robberies and a burglary, appeared to be frustrated, witnesses said.

Near Moore's body, police found a can of chewing tobacco, a bottle of beer and a flashlight stained with blood, according to the report.

It wasn't immediately clear if DNA was used to further link the suspects with the crime, but during the arrests, officers found a can of tobacco of the same brand on Ward.