Fremont Street Experience Teenager Murder Suspect Will Be Tried As Adult

Posted on: June 28, 2022, 03:29h. 

Last updated on: June 28, 2022, 03:21h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A teenage suspect was apprehended by Las Vegas cops for the recent fatal downtown shooting at the Fremont Street Experience, police said on Monday. The defendant, Ruben Robles, is due in court today.

Roben Robles
Ruben Robles, above, appears in court today at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas. He is charged with the murder of Raymond Renova. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)

He is facing charges of murder, attempted murder, and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit for the June 19 shooting, local news reports said.

Robles has yet to enter a plea on the charges. Robles initially was being held in the Clark County Detention Center, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. He has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into an occupied structure for an October shooting, the Review-Journal said.

Robles was 16 on Friday, the day he was picked up by police. He has since turned 17. Defendants in murder cases, who are 16 and older, are tried as adults in Nevada, KLAS, a local TV station, reported.

A review of court records shows Robles was charged previously as an adult in two earlier incidents, the Review-Journal reported. Both felonies were dismissed in Las Vegas court, the report said. He was charged with robbery with a deadly weapon for a March 2021 holdup.

Argument Escalates to Shooting

Police reviewed surveillance video and searched the crime scene for evidence and witnesses. Robles soon was identified as a suspect in the case. He was located by police on Nellis Boulevard in Las Vegas.

Renova’s eventual death began as an argument that escalated into a fight, police said. Someone pulled out a firearm during the confrontation. Raymond Renova, 23, was rushed to University Medical Center (UMC), but later died at the hospital. A second victim is recovering.

The second victim was an innocent bystander who resides in Idaho, KVVU, another local TV station, reported. That victim is expected to survive and was undergoing treatment at UMC.

Remembering Renova

Renova worked as a tattoo artist and lived in Las Vegas. His permanent residence was California.

Renova’s family set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to help with Renova’s final expenses. As of Tuesday, it collected $5,231. The goal is $10,000. The site also recalled Renova and how the shooting impacted his family.

He was a young, loving son, brother, uncle, and cousin that literally had his whole life ahead of him before it was tragically cut short due to gun violence. His murder was senseless and has left our family, in a lifelong cycle of pain,” the post read.

Kristy Santacruz, the victim’s aunt, told KLAS that the shooter committed the act of a coward.

“These were two young men being beaten and stomped on and then shot in the face,” Santacruz said. “You coward, you think you did something.”

Prior Fremont Street Shooting

Last Aug. 4, Fremont Street was the site of another deadly shooting. The confrontation started as a “physical altercation” between two men near an entertainment stage at Fremont and 3rd streets, Metro Police Lt. Ray Spencer said.

During the incident, one man pulled out a handgun and shot the other man in the abdomen, Spencer said. The victim ran about a block and a half before collapsing. He was taken to UMC, where he died.

The victim later was identified as Marschell Brumfield, 30, according to the Review-Journal.

In September, police arrested Mason Martin, then 36, on a murder charge in connection with the shooting, the Review-Journal said. As of today, close to a year after the crime, Martin remains in custody at the Clark County Detention Center, online jail records show. The case against Martin is apparently pending in local court.